word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against. the Gentiles; against Egypt, against the army of Pharaohnecho king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of dah." Jer. xlvi. 1, 2. So beautifully does prophecy and this historical fact harmonize. Nekus died B. c. 603, and was succeeded by his son,

Judah,

PSAMMIS,

or Psammiticus II., of whom history records nothing memorable, except that he made an expedition into Ethiopia. It was to this prince that the Eleans sent an embassy, after having instituted the Olympic games. They had established all the regulations, and arranged every circumstance relating to them with such care, that, in their estimation, nothing was required to make them perfect, and envy itself could not find fault with them. They did not, however, desire so much to have the opinion, as to gain the approbation of the Egyptians, who were looked upon as the wisest and most judicious people in the world. On this subject, accordingly, the king of Egypt assembled the wise men of his nation. After every thing had been heard which could be said in favour of this institution, the Eleans were asked, whether citizens and foreigners were admitted in common to those games; to which answer was made in the affirmative. To this the Egyptians replied, that the rules of justice would have been more strictly observed, had foreigners only been admitted to these combats; because it was difficult for the judges, in their award of the victory and the prize, not to be prejudiced in favour of their fellow-citizens. Psammis died about B. c. 597, and was succeeded in his kingdom by

APRIES, OR PHARAOH-HOPHRA,

who was his son, and who, during the first twenty-five years of his reign enjoyed greater prosperity than any of his predecessors, except Psammiticus. He defeated the Phenicians, took Sidon, and invaded Cyprus, which was finally subdued by Amasis, his successor.

But no state on earth is enduring; and the wise man has observed, that "pride goeth before destruction, and an

haughty spirit before a fall"-truths which were exemplified in the history of Pharaoh-hophra in a remarkable manner.

In the pride of his heart, he imagined, says Herodotus, that no God could deprive him of the kingdom, so firmly did he think himself established. With reference to his haughtiness, the prophet Ezekiel, also, put these words into his mouth, "My river is my own, and I have made it for myself," and symbolized him under the figure of the great dragon, or crocodile, basking in the midst of his rivers. See Ezek. xxix. 3. But in the height of his prosperity and fancied security, his doom was pronounced by the prophet Jeremiah in these emphatic words: "I will give Pharaoh-hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life," Jer. xliv. 30; which prediction was verified to the very letter, as will be seen in the course of this history.

Shortly after Apries had ascended the throne, Zedekiah king of Judah sent an embassy, Ezek. xvii. 15, and concluded an alliance with him. The next year, B. c. 588, rejecting the admonitions of Jeremiah, and looking for assistance from the king of Egypt, Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who therefore besieged Jerusalem with a numerous force. The Egyptian monarch, elated by the success of his arms, and confident that nothing could resist his power, declared himself the protector of Israel, and promised to deliver Jerusalem out of the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. This drew upon him the anger of the Almighty, which was denounced by the prophet Ezekiel (chap. xxix. 3-9) in these words:

"Thus saith the Lord God;

Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt,

The great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers,

Which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. But I will put hooks in thy jaws,

And I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales,

And I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers,

And all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales.

And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness,

Thee and all the fish of thy rivers:

Thou shalt fall upon the open fields;

Thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered:

I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field

And to the fowls of the heaven.

And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord,
Because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.

When they took hold of thee by thy hand,

Thou didst break, and rend all their shoulder:

And when they leaned upon thee,

Thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand.
Therefore thus saith the Lord God;

Behold I will bring a sword upon thee,

And cut off man and beast out of thee.

And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste;

And they shall know that I am the Lord :

Because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it."

The prophet continues his prediction of the calamities, in this and the three succeeding chapters, some of the most striking passages of which will be noticed hereafter.

Zedekiah, though well acquainted with these predictions, but lightly regarded them, and when he saw the king of Babylon raise the siege of Jerusalem, which he did on the approach of the Egyptian army, he fancied that his deliverance was completed, and anticipated a triumph. But his joy was momentary; the Egyptians seeing the Chaldeans advancing, retreated, not daring to encounter so numerous and well-disciplined an army. They marched back into their own country, and left Zedekiah exposed to all the dangers of a war in which they themselves had involved him; thus proving a "staff of reed to the house of Israel," in the full sense of the term. Nebuchadnezzar marched back again to Jerusalem, and took it, and burned it, according to the tenor of prophecy. See Jer. xxxvii. 2-10; with which passage compare Ezek. xxxi. This event is dated 586 years B. C.

Some time after, (about B. c. 574,) the chastisements with which the Almighty threatened Pharaoh-hophra began to descend upon his head. The Cyrenians, a Greek colony which had settled in Africa between Libya and Egypt, having seized upon and divided among themselves a great portion of the country belonging to the Libyans, forced those nations to place themselves under the protection of Apries. Accordingly, this prince sent a large army into Libya to oppose the Cyrenians; but this army being defeated and almost destroyed, the Egyptians imagined that Apries had sent it into Libya in order to seek its destruction, and by that means to obtain absolute power over the property and lives of his subjects. This reflection prompted them to shake off his yoke; but Apries hearing of the rebellion, despatched Amasis, one of his officers, to suppress it, and to compel the rebels to return to their allegiance. The moment, however, Amasis began to address them, they placed a helmet upon his head, in token of the dignity to which they intended to raise him, and they proclaimed him king. Amasis, therefore, instead

of performing his duty, pleased with his unexpected honours, stayed with the mutineers, and confirmed them in their rebellion.

Apries, on receiving intelligence to this effect, was more exasperated than ever, and he sent Patarbemis, one of the principal lords of his court, to arrest Amasis and bring him before him. This was not so easily effected; the rebel army surrounded Amasis to defend him, and Patarbemis was compelled to return without having executed his commission. Apries visited him for this supposed remissness of duty with unjustifiable punishment. He was treated, indeed, in the most inhuman and ignominious manner, his nose and ears being cut off by the command of Apries. But this outrage, committed upon a person of such high distinction, had the worst effect upon the minds of the Egyptians; they arose in a body and joined the rebels, so that the insurrection became general. Apries was now forced to retire into Upper Egypt, where he supported himself some years, during which time Amasis made himself master of the rest of his dominions.

Internal discord was not all the misery brought upon Egypt at this period. The king of Babylon, seeing the troubles that distracted Egypt, embraced this opportunity of invading the kingdom. This prince, unknown to himself, was only an agent in the hands of the Almighty, to punish a people, on whom, as we have seen, he had, by the mouth of his prophet, denounced vengeance. Nebuchadnezzar had just before taken Tyre, where himself and army had suffered incredible hardships, and yet had obtained no recompense when the city fell into their hands; the Tyrians having spoiled the city themselves, and fled away with their effects. But the riches of the earth are in the hands of God, and he giveth them to whom he will. To recompense the toils which the king of Babylon had endured in taking Tyre, (which event also took place in accordance with prophecy,) God promised him the riches of Egypt, then one of the most prosperous and powerful kingdoms in the world. According to Herodotus, it was at this epoch at which Egypt was most flourishing, both with regard to the advantages conferred by the river on the soil, and by the soil on the inhabitants.

There are few passages in Holy Writ more remarkable than that which reveals the designs of the Creator with reference to this event, or which give us a clearer idea of the supreme authority he exercises over the children of men, however exalted their station may be. "Son of man," said

the Almighty to his prophet Ezekiel, "Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon caused his army to serve a great service against Tyrus: every head was made bald," (owing to the pressure of their helmets,) "and every shoulder was peeled," (the consequence of carrying baskets of earth and large pieces of timber to join Tyre to the continent :) "yet had he no wages, Lor his army, for Tyrus, for the service that he had served against it: Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will give the land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall take her multitude, and take her spoil, and take her prey; and it shall be the wages for his army. I have given him the land of Egypt for his labour wherewith he served against it, because they wrought for me, saith the Lord God," Ezek. xxix. 18-20. The prophet Jeremiah, also, with reference to this event, uses these remarkable words: "He shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment," (with the greatest readiness:) "and he shall go forth from thence in peace," Jer. xliii. 12.

The extent of the desolation of Egypt was foretold by the prophet Ezekiel, (chap. xxx. 3-12,) in these words:—

"The day is near,

Even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day;

It shall be the time of the heathen.

And the sword shall come upon Egypt,

And great pain shall be in Ethiopia,
When the slain shall fall in Egypt,

And they shall take away her multitude,

And her foundations shall be broken down.

Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia,

And all the mingled people, and Chub,

And the men of the land that is in league,

Shall fall with them by the sword.

Thus saith the Lord;

They also that uphold Egypt shall fall;

And the pride of her power shall come down:

From the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword,

Saith the Lord God.

And they shall be desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate,

And her cities shall be in the midst of the cities that are wasted.

And they shall know that I am the Lord,

When I have set a fire in Egypt,

And when all her helpers shall be destroyed.

In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships

To make the careless Ethiopians afraid,

And great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt:
For, lo, it cometh.

Thus saith the Lord God;

I will also make the multitude of Egypt to cease