Verse 16. He judged the poor and the needy ; was not this
To know Jahveh ?

Verse 17. But thou hast no eyes nor any heart
Save for thy gains ;
And for the blood of the innocent, to shed it ;
And for oppression, to do it,
* * * *

Verse 18. They shall not mourn for him, alas, my brother !

And, alas, my sister !
They shall not mourn for him, alas, my lord !

And, alas, his glory !
Verse 19. With burial of an ass thou shalt be buried —

Torn and thrown out.
Chap, xxii, 22-23. Concerning the Land. At the
time of Jehoiakim's death, Syria was overrun by the
Chaldeans. The prophet, addressing Judah, bids
her dimb the loftiest heights within her reach, and
there bewail the friends and lovers of her youth, i.e.
the neighbouring nations, already reaping the bitter
fruit of their restless efforts after independence. Instead
of " friends " (Re'im) the M.T. reads : " Shepherds "
(Ro'im) ; and this has led to the application of the
oracle to the Rulers of Judah. But they could not
well be described as " Lovers " of the Land that
gave them birth ; and the wailing on Lebanon and
Abarim, far beyond the borders of Judah, must refer
to calamities descending, not on her, but on the
neighbouring nations.
Verse 20. Get thee up on Lebanon, and cry ;
On Bashan raise thy voice.
And cry from Abarim ; for ruined
Are all thy lovers.
KINGS AND PROPHETS 175

Verse 21. I spake to thee in thy prosperity,
But thou saidst, I will not hear.
So hath it been, even from thy youth up ;
Thou hast not heg,rkened to my voice.
