As it were, they came along, put words in brackets, and wrote more felicitous expressions, and this became the kri (what is read). The kri is what we read aloud. He says: my view is far from his view regarding the matter of kri and ktiv. He says that when you look at Chazal, you see that the kri always follows the plain meaning and the ktiv follows the derash. That is to say, Chazal usually expound the ktiv, what is actually written, more than the kri. And although we see two approaches to this among Chazal, whether there is an em lamikra or an em lamasoret, in any case you see that both were said for the sake of derash: both the reading, as you read it, and the tradition, as it is written. Just as the Gemara expounds "basuccot basuccot" (in booths). Twice it is written defective, once full. According to the one who holds em lamasoret, as we received it in the tradition without the vavs, they learn, for example, one wall from each. And there is another view that says no, em lamikra, the essence is how it is read, "basuccot, basuccot, basuccot," since you must read it full. We do not go by the writing but by the reading. So there is a question about which is primary. What, in any case, have you learned? That wherever there is kri and ktiv there are expositions of Chazal. The words were said in order to expound them, and hidden matters came within them.
The Malbim raises an argument: since we do claim, as you too agreed in your first fundamental premise, that this prophet was great and this prophet was profound and this prophet was second only to the prophecy of Moshe, then you can certainly understand why the verses in his book are expounded far more. Because we are dealing with a prophet of great power. We are dealing with a prophet with lofty perceptions. And since this is so, it is understandable why there is so much kri and ktiv. Because kri and ktiv largely come for the sake of derash. This means that there is much to expound in this book. So this is not a flaw in it; on the contrary, it is a testimony to his greatness. Therefore the kri and ktiv are numerous in it, since here the expositions are numerous. This is the proof that there was a double portion in the spirit of this prophet, and he always spoke words with two faces, and this testifies to the greatness of the prophet's wisdom and the depth of his words, not their deficiency and distortion as Abarbanel and the critics wished to claim and understand.
Another thing the Malbim says: they also, the critics, sought pretexts against the words of our prophet, to say that his words have no connection. As if it is written passage by passage, chapter by chapter, without any link between one chapter and the next. The Malbim says: every tongue that rises against him in judgment on this account you shall condemn. For according to what I will explain to you, you will see how everything further on is connected. You will see that it is all one body. So wait for me and I will show you that the words are not disjointed, and there is indeed connection and conceptual linkage between one and another.
Another argument they raised against him is that the matters are not in their chronological order. That is to say, he may write at the beginning things that happened at the end of his days, and he may write at the end things that happened at the beginning of his days. So this is seemingly not according to the order of the passages. The Malbim says: and what is so astonishing to you about this? In the Torah, the perfect Torah of Hashem, do Chazal not say that there is no earlier and later in the Torah? And the passages were not arranged according to the order of the times but according to an intended order in the wisdom of God. And if so, he says, then now I have yet another argument against Abarbanel. You, Abarbanel, enumerated the matters in which Yirmiyahu was compared to Moshe Rabbeinu. You should have enumerated another praise: that in the writings of Moshe, the Torah of Moshe, there is no earlier and later in the Torah, and also in the writings of the prophet Yirmiyahu there is no earlier and later in his writings. On the contrary, rather than seeing a deficiency in this, you should have found a praise in it, that in this the words of Yirmiyahu the prophet were compared to the words of Moshe.
Another thing the critics claimed is that his words come with much repetition of matters: in many places he repeats things he already said in earlier passages, and in other places he writes things that earlier prophets already said. The Malbim says: do not wonder at this. For we know that every heavenly decree that comes twice, that is repeated twice, comes to indicate that this thing is about to be fulfilled soon. And regarding the doubling of Pharaoh's dream: "because the matter is established by God and God is hastening to do it." So the fact that a thing is repeated only says that it is about to happen. In whose days did all the troubles occur? In the days of Yirmiyahu. So Yirmiyahu must repeat the words, because behold it is already imminent. All the other prophets spoke about earlier periods. But I am telling you, sir, this is about to happen, so I go back and repeat the words. Because of the repetition of the matter from God, for God is hastening to do it. And this is also the reason I repeat the prophecies of other prophets. Because other prophets prophesied 20 and 30 and 40 and 50 years earlier. And I am prophesying a year earlier, two years earlier, so I need to repeat the words. Because the prophet essentially comes to say: know that you had a chance when the other prophets prophesied, you had a chance to repent, and you did not repent. And therefore I inform you that the divine decree is about to take effect. And therefore he says his words are doubled to indicate that the matter is decreed and sealed before Hashem, or that the matter will come within a few days. And therefore you see that the words of Yirmiyahu can come doubled or repeat the words of other prophets. And all this is a proof of the greatness of our prophet and his prophecies, not of their deficiencies as the critics claim.
The Malbim concludes: and if so, I have shown you that this prophet of ours, Yirmiyahu, has a place and a name among the three virtues of which Abarbanel spoke and with which he opened, and he attained them in the peak of perfection and to their ultimate degree. First, his thoughts, his ideas were very deep, his perception was very lofty. Second, in terms of eloquence and speech. Third, in terms of the beauty of the writing. In all three matters the prophet was the most distinguished, more than all the other prophets. And therefore he concludes: and you, open your mouth and eat the book that I have spread before you, feed your belly and fill your innards with this scroll, and let it be in your mouth like honey for its perfection, sweet, and your eyes will light up. And do not bring a curse upon me when you do not find any of my words pleasing in your eyes. I ask that if something does not find favor in your eyes, do not attack me. But if a spirit of jealousy does not pass over you, or a way of pride and arrogance and perverse speech, that is to say, if you do not act out of anger, and not out of pride, then you will study the words, and your soul will bless me. For I have guided you on a path of truth in tracks of uprightness, when you walk your step will not be hindered. Take the blessing that has been brought to you, and bring a blessing upon me and not a curse. As Hashem lives and blessed is my Rock, exalted above all praise and blessing, behold you have consented to bless your servant. Here he concludes with a prayer: consent now and take a blessing from your servant, and grant me a blessing, the blessing is one for you my father, give me a blessing and grant me springs of water, the upper springs and the lower springs. The intent is that Hashem should reveal to him the secrets of the Torah, both upper, meaning lofty secrets, and lower, meaning also the plain meaning. Bless the work of my hands, bless, Hashem, my strength and be pleased with the work of my hands, bless your people and bless your inheritance, bless me too my father, and from your blessing may the house of your servant be blessed forever, blessed is God who has not removed my prayer nor His kindness from me, and blessed is the name of His glory forever, from eternity to eternity, amen and amen. In the second cycle, 5627 (627 in the shorter reckoning), Meir Leibush Malbim. Thus ends the introduction of the Malbim.
Let us give one more small introduction concerning the prophet Yirmiyahu himself, and then with the help of Heaven we will begin the study of Sefer Yirmiyahu. Yirmiyahu, as we will see shortly at the beginning of the first chapter, was chosen while still in his mother's womb to be a prophet of Hashem. And his prophecies are prophecies of wrath. His prophecies are prophecies about the destruction, harsh prophecies for the people of Israel. Yirmiyahu wrote his book, wrote Sefer Melachim, and also wrote Megillat Eichah, whose contents are harsh matters. And to be able to stand and say such harsh things before the people, one needs a person with strength of spirit, a person without fear and dread. And Yirmiyahu at the beginning of his path indeed recoiled from the enormity of the burden and the mission that the Holy One Blessed be He was about to place upon him. But after the Holy One Blessed be He promised him that He would save him and that he had nothing to fear, Yirmiyahu indeed rose and stood and rebuked the people. And he commanded them to return from their evil way. He tells them that if they do not return, harsh calamities will come upon them, exiles will come upon them, Nevuchadnetzar will come. And indeed, not once and not twice we will see that Yirmiyahu was in mortal danger, quite literally. Had Hashem not saved him at the last moment each time through some other means, Yirmiyahu would have reached a state of death. He certainly suffered afflictions. This came from the people of his city, from the officers, and even when he was saved by the king, he did not recoil from telling him harsh words and harsh prophecies and fulfilling his mission in full. From every direction they fought against him, and with all this Yirmiyahu had a promise from Hashem that He would make him into a fortified city, an iron pillar, a bronze wall, all these being promises of the great strength he would have, that he had nothing to fear and would speak the words plainly and without embellishment.
Yirmiyahu testifies about himself that from his own perspective he no longer wished to prophesy. But he says that because his heart, because his heart was burning with love of Israel, and his pain was perpetual and his wound grievous, it was hard for him to voice the harsh words. He endured disgrace and contempt, and says: "for whenever I speak I cry out violence and shout destruction, for the word of Hashem has become for me a reproach and derision all the day." I receive only disgrace from the prophecies I deliver in the word of Hashem, for who wants to hear harsh things? Who wants to hear reproaches? "And I said I will not mention Him nor speak any more in His name. But it was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary of holding it in and could not." But the prophecy was within him like a fire shut up in his bones, which he could not contain, and he was compelled to bring out and deliver the prophecy.
Yirmiyahu is commanded to arouse the people, that they should not delude themselves that they can survive in their lowly spiritual state, that they abandon the Holy One Blessed be He who is the source of living waters, and hew for themselves broken cisterns, and rely on Egypt, rely on Assyria to save them. Yirmiyahu tries to cause those illusions to dissipate. And along with the prophecies of wrath, he still told them words of comfort about the return to Zion, about the dearness of Ephraim, the ten tribes, the comfort of the Holy One Blessed be He who comforted Israel, Rachel weeping for her children. After the destruction, Nevuchadnetzar wanted to give Yirmiyahu tranquility, to give him quiet, to leave him alone and give him whatever he would ask. Because Yirmiyahu indeed prophesied about Nevuchadnetzar and about Nevuchadnetzar conquering the land, and he saw in him a true prophet, for behold his prophecies were fulfilled. But with all this he chose to return to Yehudah and remain here with the remnant of the survivors, with Gedaliah ben Achikam, in order to preserve the remaining ember that still remained here in the Land of Israel. Only that we know that this smoldering ember was also extinguished following the act of Yishmael ben Netaniah, who went and killed Gedaliah ben Achikam, who did not want to hear that there was someone who wanted to assassinate him. And the remaining ember was extinguished, as we said, and then Yirmiyahu was forced to go into exile to Egypt together with Baruch ben Neriah, and apparently in the end they remained there in Egypt.
Yirmiyahu warned the king and warned the people not to rebel against the king of Bavel. According to his prophecy and the message he received from Hashem, the time and power of Bavel was now to rule; the guardian angel of Bavel now had its time to rule the world. And since this was so, he told them that this was the time when they simply needed to bow their heads before the king of Bavel, that they should not try to rebel against him, that they should not try to act against someone whom the Holy One Blessed be He had made king. It would seemingly appear that he had words in favor of the king of Bavel. But at that very same time, he was also able to voice a prophecy of calamity upon Bavel itself. All in the word of Hashem. Concerning Bavel, which would itself appear as a mighty kingdom, a kingdom with no chance of falling, he prophesies its downfall, the downfall of all its helpers, all its supporters. And this was, as I said, while it was still in its full might and splendor. And he also commands her officers to voice the things he says even in Bavel itself. That is to say, he made no concessions to anyone. He had no interest in this side or that side; he had one interest: to benefit his people and to fulfill the word of God who sent him to speak those prophecies.
Chazal say: the order of the prophets, meaning what the chronological order was: Yehoshua, Shoftim, Shmuel, Melachim, Yirmiyah, Yechezkel, Yeshayah, and Trei Asar. And this is somewhat astonishing, for we know that chronologically it is not really Yirmiyah, Yechezkel, Yeshayah. We know that Yeshayah preceded them. Yeshayah preceded Yirmiyah, so why did they place Yirmiyah before Yeshayah? That is to say, when writing the prophets, Yirmiyah appears first. That is not correct, Yirmiyah is already at the destruction. Yeshayah is even before. So the Gemara says: since the book of Melachim ends with calamity, we see the exile of Israel. And Yirmiyahu is entirely calamity. And Yechezkel begins with calamity and ends with comfort. And Yeshayahu is entirely comfort. And therefore what did they do? They placed calamity next to calamity. To Melachim they placed Yirmiyah adjacent. After that it begins with Yechezkel, who also begins with calamity, so they placed Yechezkel adjacent to it. Yechezkel ends with comfort, so they placed Yeshayah adjacent to it, since Yeshayah is entirely comfort. And then, essentially not wanting to mix calamity with comfort, they placed the calamity first and concluded with matters of comfort. And what is written, that Yirmiyahu is entirely calamity, is not necessarily entirely calamity; rather, the Maharsha explains that most of it is calamity, for there are indeed also words of comfort in Sefer Yirmiyahu. And indeed the Baalei HaMasorah placed Yirmiyahu after Yeshayahu because of their chronological order, as I said, and not as brought in the Gemara.
Chazal say, as I mentioned earlier, that Yirmiyahu wrote his book, Sefer Melachim, and Kinot. So says the Gemara in Bava Batra 15; Kinot means Sefer Eichah. These books were written with ruach hakodesh, with the spirit of prophecy, and we see that their content is more or less uniform. The idea that encompasses them all is that if Israel walks in the way of Hashem, they have survival in the Land of Israel, the Holy One Blessed be He protects and shields them, and if, God forbid, they deviate from the correct path, then calamity comes upon them and the Holy One Blessed be He brings upon them nations who oppress them. This is the idea, and what appears, "but I will not make an utter end of you," means that although He tells them harsh things, know that complete annihilation will ultimately not occur. And the reason is that indeed within each Jew there is the inner point of holiness. We explained that the forces of impurity will in the end perish from the earth. Why? Because the Holy One Blessed be He will extract from them the holy spark. In contrast, the people of Israel, each and every one of Israel, "one who blows, blows from himself." What the Holy One Blessed be He breathed into him as the breath of life is from Him, blessed be He. What this essentially means is that annihilation is not applicable to the people of Israel, since within us there is a portion of God from above. And just as a portion of God will never perish, just as the Divine will never perish, so too the portion of God from above that is within each and every one of Israel will never perish. And therefore, "and yet even this, while they are in the land of their enemies, I have not rejected them nor abhorred them to destroy them." There is exile, there are harsh blows, there are forced conversions and killings, true. But annihilation will never happen to the people of Israel. As we said, this is a promise that the Holy One Blessed be He promised to Avraham Avinu at the Brit Bein HaBetarim, that the inner holy point of the people of Israel will never perish from them, that there will never be an absolute spiritual annihilation of the people of Israel. If the people of Israel should cease, it is written, "if the heavens and the earth would not stand before Me," so too "if the seed of Israel should cease from being a nation before Me all the days." Just as the heavens and the earth exist forever, so too the people of Israel exist forever. And we expanded on this in Rav Dessler when he explains the matter of the merit of the fathers; we expanded on this matter.
Sefer Yirmiyahu, let us summarize, is among the books of the Latter Prophets. And why is this called the Latter Prophets, as distinct from the Former Prophets? The Former Prophets are Yehoshua, Shoftim, Shmuel, and Melachim, since there it discusses what happened to the earlier generations. In contrast, Sefer Yirmiyahu already discusses what happens to the later generations. And there are prophecies or comforts for the later generations, so that we should look forward to the redemption, for everything essentially depends on teshuvah. The conclusion of the book deals with the sprouting of the horn of the kingdom of the House of David, which will sprout and blossom anew, from which a rod will arise and go forth for the house of Yishai, and the King Mashiach will sprout speedily in our days, amen.
As an introduction to Sefer Yirmiyah, we will want to look at the period in which Yirmiyah operated. The kings who lived in his time, the prophets who lived in his time. This will help us greatly afterward, further on, in understanding the book, the period, and the events that occurred then. In order to establish this, we took a passage from the beginning of the Me'am Lo'ez, where he essentially arranged this whole matter, and we will look at the main points of it, and afterward, with the help of Heaven, we will begin the study of Sefer Yirmiyah.
The period of King Chizkiyah. King Chizkiyahu reigned 15 years. After him reigned his son Menasheh. Menasheh was among the kings who reigned the longest period, he reigned 55 years. Menasheh at the beginning of his days did what was evil in the eyes of Hashem, he set up an idol in the Heichal on the 16th of Tammuz. Several prophets prophesied in his time, rebuked him, spoke with him, spoke with the people, tried to bring them to repentance, and the people did not listen. As appears in Melachim I in chapter 21. Chazal say Yoel, Nachum, Chavakuk prophesied in the days of Menasheh. In the 22nd year of Menasheh, the army officers of the king of Assyria captured him, bound him in bronze chains, brought him down to Bavel, put him inside a pot there, kindled the fire beneath it, and then, in this, he began to call out the names of all the idolatries. "O my god so-and-so, answer me, god of Dagon, answer me," the gods of all the idolatries that existed in his time, he calls to all of them, and none of them answer him. Until in the end he said: when I was a child my father told me that there is some God, that "when you are in distress and all these things find you, you will return to Hashem your God." So if He answers me now, there is a God. And if not, God forbid, God forbid, He is as it were no better than the other gods. May dust be in his mouth. See in what a bad state the man is: the fire is already scorching his legs from below, in a moment they are frying him, and he is still making conditions with the Holy One Blessed be He. If He answers me, it is a sign that there is truth in Him; if not... You are making conditions? Now grovel! But no, he still makes conditions. The ministering angels wanted to seal the gates of prayer before him, but the Holy One Blessed be He said they should open and tunnel a tunnel for him beneath the Throne of Glory, for if not they would say that there is no opening for penitents. And in the end Hashem restores him to his kingdom, and when he returned to his kingdom it is written of him that he repented. There is a dispute as to what exactly was the extent of his repentance, whether it was full repentance or not. Whoever wishes can hear about this in Sefer Melachim, where we brought the Malbim and others; we will not enter into it.
The subsequent period: Menasheh's son, his name was Amon. Amon reigned two years. His servants conspired against him and killed him. The people killed those who killed him, and in his place, in place of Amon ben Chizkiyahu, they crowned his son, Yoshiyahu ben Amon. Amon himself was wicked, but Yoshiyahu ben Amon was a righteous king. He was eight years old when he became king, he reigned 31 years. In his time Tzefaniah prophesied about the destruction of Yerushalayim. In the eighth year of his reign Yoshiyahu began to seek Hashem, as appears in Divrei HaYamim. Four years later he began to purify Yerushalayim of the bamot, of the idolatry that was there, the mountains of Menasheh, the mountains of Ephraim. In the 13th year of Yoshiyahu, here we become acquainted with the prophet Yirmiyah. The year 3298. Perhaps there is also some symbolic matter in this, for when he began to prophesy, Yirmiyahu is considered the prophet of wrath, the prophet of calamity. Yeshayahu, whom we studied, is a prophet who prophesied about comfort. But Yirmiyahu's prophecies were very harsh prophecies. Yirmiyahu also wrote Sefer Eichah, and Sefer Eichah describes very, very harsh things and was all written even before the destruction. And then Yirmiyahu begins to prophesy. He was a prophet all the days of Yoshiyahu, as we explained that Yoshiyahu was the son of Amon, son of Menasheh, son of Chizkiyahu. In the period of Yoshiyahu, Yirmiyahu prophesies, and Chazal say that he prophesied all the days of Yoshiyahu, the days of Yehoyakim his son, Tzidkiyahu his son, until the exile of Yerushalayim. Until 3338. Three prophets prophesied in that generation. Chazal say Yirmiyahu would prophesy in the markets, Tzefaniah inside the synagogues, Tzefaniah from the language of hidden (tzafun), and Chuldah would prophesy to the women.
In the 18th year of Yoshiyahu, Chilkiyahu the Kohen informed Shafan the scribe, and we will see further on that there is a connection between Yirmiyahu and Chilkiyahu, Chilkiyahu the Kohen informed Shafan the scribe that he had found the Sefer Torah in the House of Hashem. We will see this further on and touch on this matter, what was found there in the Sefer Torah. Shafan brings the book to the king, the king tears his garments and he understands that the wrath of Hashem is great. Why? Because he saw the scroll rolled: the scroll was always rolled to the beginning, and here he sees that it was rolled to the passage of rebuke, "Hashem will lead you and your king." Hashem will lead him and his king into exile. Now, incidentally this is very interesting: the Metzudat David there writes that this is what appeared at the top of the column, "Hashem will lead you and your king." The only Sifrei Torah in which "Hashem will lead you and your king" appears at the top of the column are the scrolls of the Yemenite Jews. All the other scrolls begin with vavs, the vavs of the columns. There is no column that begins with "Hashem will lead you," only in the Yemenite scrolls does this appear at the top of the column. This demonstrates the authenticity of these scrolls.
In the 18th year of Yoshiyahu, Yirmiyahu brought back the ten tribes who had gone into exile, and then Yoshiyahu reigned over them. There is indeed a dispute among Chazal whether Yirmiyahu brought back the ten tribes or not, but in any case according to this view among Chazal, Yirmiyahu brought them back in the 18th year of Yoshiyahu, and Yoshiyahu was king over those ten tribes. In the 31st year of Yoshiyahu, Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went out to fight the king of Assyria, this being the last year of Yoshiyahu. And then, when he went out to fight him at Karkemish on the Euphrates River, Yoshiyahu went out toward him. The reason he went out toward him, we studied this at length, was because he was certain that the people were righteous, and when the people are righteous "a sword will not pass through your land." Chazal say, does this mean a sword of war? Certainly it cannot be entertained, since it says there explicitly "and I will grant peace in the land." So what does "a sword will not pass through your land" mean? Even a sword of peace. That even Egypt should not pass through our land, for example, in order to fight with Lebanon. No, I have no problem with you, I am going to Lebanon, I only want to cross through, to shorten the way. Even that, no. Yoshiyahu says: if so, how could they possibly pass through our land? And then he protests against him. Pharaoh Necho tells him: no, it is not against you that I come today, do not interfere with me. Yoshiyahu does not listen to him because he was confident in his righteousness, but Yoshiyahu did not know that that generation was not a fine one. He did not know that outwardly they showed themselves as righteous; he would send patrols to inspect the houses. They had doors, two doors that opened inward in the house, and on the doors from the inside was engraved an idol. When the men would arrive, his patrols to verify that there were no idolatries in the houses, the doors would open inward, and then the idolatry that was on the door from inside would be hidden. They would conduct an inspection of the house, see there was no idolatry, clean of any image, they leave, those people close the door, and behold the idolatry rises and stands again. The idolatry returns and stands before them. Yoshiyahu did not know the state of his generation, and therefore thought that he could go against Pharaoh, but as we said there was a very great error in this, and in the end at the valley of Megiddo the archers shot him, they wounded him fatally, it is written that they made him like a sieve, they brought him for burial in Yerushalayim. Yirmiyahu lamented over Yoshiyahu, "the breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Hashem, was captured in their pits." The intent is that in the corruption of the people he was captured, for he was of the aspect of "the breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Hashem, of whom we said, in his shadow we shall live among the nations." He was meant to be the Mashiach, but as we saw that generation was not worthy of it.
Afterward, the people took Yehoachaz, son of Yoshiyahu, and crowned him in place of his father. Yehoachaz reigned only three months. Pharaoh Necho imprisoned him, since he feared him, because if Yehoachaz is a son of Yoshiyahu, then it is very possible that he would want to take revenge on me. So he imprisoned him at Rivlah, and crowned Yehoyakim in his place. Yehoyakim is also called Elyakim. Yehoachaz, as we said, he took to Egypt, where he died. Yehoyakim ben Yoshiyahu, who was the brother of Yehoachaz, reigned 11 years. Then Uriyahu ben Shemayahu of Kiryat Ye'arim prophesied against him, according to all that Yirmiyahu spoke. Yehoyakim wanted to put the prophet to death, Uriyahu; he fled to Egypt, Yehoyakim sent to bring him from Egypt and kill him. And then Yirmiyahu prophesies about the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. It is written that the priests and the false prophets wanted to put him to death, because it was pleasant to no one to hear that Hashem was about to exile them, that their deeds were evil. They very, very much loved the false prophets. The false prophets, those who always told them you are fine, you are good, on the contrary, Hashem will yet return the vessels of the Beit HaMikdash back to the Beit HaMikdash, Hashem will return those who went into exile. The media very much loved to hear those people. All sorts of Reform rabbis, Conservatives like that, darling rabbis, rabbis who always said what the media loved to hear, those who always converted whomever the media wanted them to convert, brought close and admitted and... But those who spoke words of rebuke, they never loved them. And therefore they wanted to kill the prophet Yirmiyah. And then Achikam ben Shafan saved him. And then Yirmiyahu prophesied about Nevuchadnetzar, that Nevuchadnetzar would reign; he prophesied about the exile of Yehoyachin, about Tzidkiyahu, that Nevuchadnetzar would give him rule. Afterward, 15 years later, he made for himself bonds and yoke-bars, he carried them on his neck for 15 years to show that they must come under the yoke of Nevuchadnetzar's bonds. But then Chananiah ben Azur, who was a false prophet, broke those bonds and yoke-bars to show that essentially none of this should happen. Yirmiyahu prophesied about the destruction of the Mikdash, "Hashem will roar from on high," and then he also prophesied about the house of the Rechavim, who did not drink wine, we will get to this without a vow. And then he commanded Baruch ben Neriah to write all the prophecies from the days of Yoshiyahu until this day, so that the matters would be arranged for the people, that they would see how there are clear and detailed prophecies in which the Holy One Blessed be He announces all that is destined to be.
In the fifth year of Yehoyakim, Baruch ben Neriah reads all the prophecies of Yirmiyah from the book in the ears of the people. Yehoyakim, as we said, was a wicked king and these things did not find favor in his eyes, and then he tore the scroll and burned it. Following this, more sections were added to the scroll, for this book that he brought him to read, he threw it into the burning hearth, and there he burned Megillat Eichah, and then he added there more upon more harsh prophecies that were said as an addition to what was said at first; these are the additional sections that were added to Sefer Eichah following Yehoyakim's burning of the book. In that same year Nevuchadnetzar arrives, he conquers Yehoyakim, he does not exile him, he leaves him there as a servant to him for three years. In the eighth year of Yehoyakim, he rebelled against Nevuchadnetzar. His rebellion held for three years. In the 11th year of Yehoyakim, the king of Bavel binds him in bronze chains, takes him to Bavel, and Yirmiyahu prophesies about him that he would be given the burial of a donkey. And this indeed was fulfilled with Yehoyachin, immediately when they imprisoned him he died, they took him out and dragged him, they buried him the burial of a donkey. The king of Bavel then crowned Yehoyachin his son. Yehoyachin is also called Yoyachin, also Yechaniahu, also Chaniahu. His period of kingship too was very short, three months and ten days. And then after a siege, they took him and all that was his and brought out the treasures of the House of Hashem and the treasures of the king's house, and then the king of Bavel exiled Yechoniah and several thousand of the inhabitants of Yerushalayim to Bavel, and when he was exiled, then Daniel, Chananiah, Mishael, Azariah were also exiled with him, when they were still young lads. This was the period of Yehoyachin.
The subsequent period: Nevuchadnetzar crowns Mataniah, the uncle of Yehoyachin, he was the son of Yoshiyahu, and he changes his name to Tzidkiyahu. Tzidkiyahu was a righteous king, and Yirmiyahu prophesies about Shalum ben Yoshiyahu, which is Tzidkiyahu, about Yehoyakim and about Chaniahu, and prophesies about the return to Zion. He sends the letter to the exile in Bavel, telling them to build houses and dwell, do not think that you are about to be redeemed as the false prophets say, that you are about to return, he tells them no, before Bavel's 70 years are complete you will not return, so do not anticipate a vain salvation, know that the prophecies that the false prophets prophesy to you about the imminent redemption are not true prophecies, build houses, dwell, for until Bavel's 70 years are complete the redemption will not yet be. And here too he prophesies prophecies of comfort. In the fourth year of Tzidkiyahu, Tzidkiyahu goes down to Bavel together with Serayah ben Neriah, and Yirmiyahu writes a book about the calamity that will come upon Bavel, tells Serayah to read the book in Bavel, to cast it into the Euphrates River, as we will see in Yirmiyahu 51 and Yirmiyahu 59. And then Chananiah ben Azur prophesies a false prophecy, that in two years Hashem would break the yoke of the king of Bavel, the vessels of the Beit HaMikdash would return, Yechaniah would return from the exile. And Yirmiyahu prophesies against this, that Chananiah ben Azur would die in that year. What happened in the end? He died. But what did he do? He asked his children: do not publicize it in the media. Why? So that people would say, you see, a year passed, and only after the year did he die, not in that year. See what a false prophet is: even after his death, even when he sees the falsehood about to come true, even then, what is important to him? It is important to him that people continue to believe in his falsehood, even though he truly knows that his words are not true. And afterward, in the fifth year of the exile of Yehoyachin, Yechezkel prophesies prophecies of calamity. In the eighth year of Tzidkiyahu, the king of Bavel comes and besieges Yerushalayim, the army of Egypt comes to help, in the end they retreat, they return to their land. And then Tzidkiyahu again subjugates the slaves whom they had previously freed, and about this Yirmiyahu prophesies to them harsh words of prophecy in chapter 34, since you freed the slaves and the fact that you subjugate them back under your hand is against the will of Hashem. Afterward, when the army of the Kasdim went against Egypt, Yirmiyahu leaves Yerushalayim, and there they seize him, they put him in prison, the house of Yehonatan the scribe. And then Yirmiyahu prophesies about the Philistines, about Moav, about the children of Ammon, about Edom, about Damascus, about Kedar, about the kingdoms of Chatzor, whom Nevuchadnetzar would strike. And we will see explicitly that it appears in the verses "a prophet to the nations I have made you." The intent is that Yirmiyahu did not prophesy only about the people of Israel, he also prophesied about the other nations. In the ninth year of Tzidkiyahu, on the tenth of Tevet, Nevuchadnetzar and all his army come to Yerushalayim, he besieges it. And then Yechezkel prophesied about this, and Tzidkiyahu secretly sends to take him out of prison, to bring him to his house, and he asks him: what is the word of Hashem? Thus he asks Yirmiyahu. Yirmiyahu prophesies to him very harsh prophecies, and following this he throws him into the pit through the officers of Tzidkiyahu. See what kings are: you call for him so that he will tell you the word of Hashem, and when he tells you things that are not pleasant to your ears, you throw him into the pit. Through the officers of Tzidkiyahu, and in the end we will see that Eved-Melech the Kushi saved him from the pit into which he had sunk in the mud, he saves him from there. In the tenth year of Tzidkiyahu, incidentally, there was also a logic to this, for he wanted to know what would be in the future. But he very, very much did not want the people to know. For if the people knew, then an uproar would be created against him. And therefore he said: what I know, only I should know. If I now free him, he is obligated, he is forbidden to suppress his prophecy, he will be obligated to tell it to the people. And then there would be turmoil against me. So he throws him into prison, into the pit, in order to shut his mouth. In the tenth year of Tzidkiyahu, in the middle of the siege, Yirmiyahu is commanded by Hashem to buy a field from Chanamel ben Shalum, Chanamel his cousin, yes, and he gives the deeds of purchase to Baruch ben Neriah, and this was intended in order to strengthen the people and encourage them and tell them that fields will yet be bought in Yehudah, meaning that they are destined to return. And then Yechezkel also prophesied about Egypt and about Tyre and Sidon. Afterward, the famine was severe, the city was breached, they seized Tzidkiyahu and his sons, all the nobles of Yehudah, they killed the sons of Tzidkiyahu before his eyes, they blinded Tzidkiyahu, and on the seventh of Av the nations entered the Heichal, they took the sea, the stands, the pillars, they were dismantling it on the seventh, eighth, and ninth, until the day waned, and with the darkness of the ninth, which is Tishah B'Av, they kindled the fire in it, and it was burning in the darkness of the ninth, and all of the tenth it was burning in fire. All of the tenth of Av the Beit HaMikdash was burning, we only observe Tishah B'Av because that is the beginning of the calamity. Nevuchadnetzar, after he destroyed the Beit HaMikdash and burned its Heichal, Nevuchadnetzar commanded Nevuzaradan to keep an eye on Yirmiyah, since he valued his prophecies as true prophecies and he saw that his words were fulfilled. He took him out of the courtyard of the guard, and he was handed over to Gedaliah ben Achikam. Yirmiyahu came to him from Ramah to Mitzpah, and also officers of the troops and other Jews who had returned from Moav and Ammon arose. The officers of the troops warned Gedaliahu ben Achikam that there was a plan to assassinate him. They told him that Ba'alis king of the children of Ammon had sent Yishmael ben Netaniah in order to assassinate you. But he did not want to accept the lashon hara, he did not believe what they told him. In the seventh month, on the third of Tishrei, this is why we observe the Fast of Gedaliah, Gedaliahu ben Achikam was killed. The people asked whether to go down to Egypt, and Yirmiyahu, thus they ask Yirmiyahu, Yirmiyahu tells them not to go down to Egypt. And once again they do not listen to him. He told them not to go down to Egypt and they go down to Egypt. And then a fugitive came from Yerushalayim to Bavel and informs them that the city was struck, and there too he prophesies about the dry bones in chapter 37, he prophesied about the downfall of Egypt and Tyre. In the 27th year of Nevuchadnetzar, he exiled Yirmiyahu and Baruch ben Neriah, he exiled him to Bavel. 14 years later, Yechezkel prophesies about the building of the Third Temple, and Yechezkel, as is known, was in Bavel, and prophesies "I am standing by the River Kevar," yes, which was there in Bavel. In the 37th year of the exile of Yehoyachin, on the 27th of Adar, Nevuchadnetzar died. A day later, Evil-Merodach takes him out of his grave, drags him, drags his bones, to fulfill what was said of him, "and you were cast out of your grave like an abhorred branch." A day later he takes Yechoniah out of his prison, and at that same time Tzidkiyahu died and they eulogized him. King Tzidkiyahu, the Seder Olam brings, drank the dregs of all the generations. The intent is the sediment that accumulated here from all the generations that rebelled against Hashem, whoever in the end drank all of this to the last drop, it was King Tzidkiyahu.