Matthew Poole and continuators on Jeremiah 52:34

34 And for his diet, there was a continual diet given him of the King of Babylon, every day a portion, until the day of his death, all the dayes of his life .

He treated him like a Prince with a respect becoming his former state, took care both for his Habit and Diet, for his Habit, that it should be decent, such as became a person of his quality, though a Captive: for his Diet, that he should have it in his Court, thereby learning others that Humanity which becometh all men to treat others with that are fallen under their power; that Decency, which becometh them as men, and as men whose circumstances have been better; doing to others, as we would they should do unto us. Thus Iehoiachin's Lot was different from that of his Father Iehoiachim, whose body was cast out as we heard before: as also from that of his Uncle Zedekiah, who did not onely dye in Babylon, but died a prisoner, his Nephew Iehoiachim died there, and a Captive, but not in durance. These four last verses are found also 2 Kings 25.27, 28, 29, 30. and being found here in a Narrative form, related as a piece of History relating a thing done: not in a prophetical stile, are an Argument (as was said before) that this whole Chapter, is no part of the Prophesie of Ieremiah, and probably not wrote by him, for he beginning his Prophesie in the thirteenth year of Iosiah, who reigned thirty one years, and continuing it three months during the reign of Iehoahaz, and eleven years during the reign of Iehoiachim, and three months during the reign of Jehoiachin (or Jeconiah) and eleven years during the reign of Zedekiah; and Je[illegible: 1 letter]oiachin, outliving the reign of Zedekiah twenty five years, it must needs be sixty five years and an half after the word of the Lord first came to Jeremiah before the death of Jehoiachin; so as the Prophet if he lived to that time must be near an hundred years old, which is not probable. Here now endeth the History of the Kingdom of Judah: I shall onely note the severe judgment of God upon this people, whose Kingdom was made up of the two Tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and half the Tribe of Manasseh. In the numbering of the persons belonging to these two Tribes, Numb. 1. (counting half of the number of the tribe of Manasseh) we find One hundred twenty six thousand one hundred, Num. 26. we find of them One hundred forty eight thousand four hundred and fifty. Here v. 30. we find no more of them carried into Captivity, than four thousand and six hundred. From whence we may judge what a multitude of them were slain by the Sword or killed by the Famine and the Pestilence, though we make a great allowance for such as were left in the land to dress Vineyards, and to till the ground. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, to mock his messengers, despise his words, and misuse his Prophets, till there be no remedy, as this People did, 2 Chron. 36.16.

Marginal references: Heb. [illegible: 1 span] of the [illegible: 1 word] his day.