Jeremiah 27:1

1. Jehoiakim—The prophecy that follows was according to this reading given in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, fifteen years before it was published in the reign of Zedekiah to whom it refers; it was thus long deposited in the prophet's bosom, in order that by it he might be supported under trials in his prophetic career in the interim [CALVIN]. But "Zedekiah" may be the true reading. So the Syriac and Arabic Versions. Jeremiah 27:3; Jeremiah 27:12; Jeremiah 28:1, confirm this; also, one of KENNICOTT'S manuscripts. The English Version reading may have originated from Jeremiah 26:1. "Son of Josiah" applies to Zedekiah as truly as to "Jehoiakim" or "Eliakim." The fourth year may, in a general sense here, as in Jeremiah 28:1, be called "the beginning of his reign," as it lasted eleven years (2 Kings 24:18). It was not long after the fourth year of his reign that he rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 51:59; Jeremiah 52:3; 2 Kings 24:20), in violation of an oath before God (2 Kings 24:20- :).