Jeremia 52:18

(Exo 27:3).

And the basins,.... Or "bowls"; these are omitted, Kg2 25:15; they were of gold, Kg1 7:50; and the firepans; or "censers"; these were those of gold, which belonged to the golden altar, Kg1 7:50; and the bowls; or "basins"; there were a hundred of them made of gold, Ch2 4:8; and the cauldrons; or "pots"; these are not mentioned, Kg2 25:15; what they should be, that were either of gold or silver, cannot be said: and the candlesticks; of which there were ten in number, made of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, Kg1 7:49; and the spoons; which were also of gold, Kg1 7:50; and the cups: the word is rendered "bowls", to cover withal, Exo 25:29; it was some kind of instrument or vessel used about the shewbread table, made of pure gold; according to Jarchi, these were little golden forks, upon which they placed the shewbread, to keep it from moulding; according to the Misna (c), there were four of them: that which was of gold in gold, and that which was of silver in silver, took the captain of the guard away; that is, everything that was of gold or silver he took away; the golden things by themselves, and the silver things by themselves, as some think. (c) Menachot, c. 11. sect. 6.

History is the best expositor of prophecy; and therefore, for the better understanding of the prophecies of this book which relate to the destruction of Jerusalem and the kingdom of Judah, we are here furnished with an account of that sad event. It is much he same with the history we had 2 Kings 24 and 25, and many of the particulars we had before in that book, but the matter is here repeated and put together, to give light to the book of the Lamentations, which follows next, and to serve as a key to it. That article in the close concerning the advancement of Jehoiachin in his captivity, which happened after Jeremiah's time, gives colour to the conjecture of those who suppose that this chapter was not written by Jeremiah himself, but by some man divinely inspired among those in captivity, for a constant memorandum to those who in Babylon preferred Jerusalem above their chief joy. In this chapter we have, I. The bad reign of Zedekiah, very bad in regard both of sin and of punishment (Jer 52:1-3). II. The besieging and taking of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans (Jer 52:4-7). III. The severe usage which Zedekiah and the princes met with (Jer 52:8-11). IV. The destruction of the temple and the city (Jer 52:12-14). V. The captivity of the people (Jer 52:15, Jer 52:16) and the numbers of those that were carried away into captivity (Jer 52:28-30). VI. The carrying off of the plunder of the temple (Jer 52:17-23). VII. The slaughter of the priests, and some other great men, in cold blood (Jer 52:24-27). VIII. The better days which king Jehoiachin lived to see in the latter end of his time, after the death of Nebuchadnezzar (Jer 52:31-34).