And judge for the poor and the needy? 16
Then was it well![312]
Was not this how to know Me?—
Rede of the Lord.
But thine eyes and thy heart are on nought 17
Save thine own spoil,
And on shedding of innocent blood,
Doing outrage and murder.
Josiah had enjoyed what was enough for him in sober, seemly parallel to his faithful discharge of duty; his son was luxurious, unscrupulous, bloody, and withal petty—fussing with cedar, and cutting up the Prophet's roll piece by piece with a pen-knife! Jeremiah and Baruch's sarcastic notes on Jehoiakim find parallels in Victor Hugo's “Châtiments” of Napoleon III.: “l'infiniment petit, monstreux et feroce;” “Voici de l'or, viens pille et vole ... voici du sang, accours, viens boire, petit, petit!”
XXII. 18. Therefore, thus saith the Lord of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, King of Judah.