THIS

prophet is placed last, as he was last in time, of all the minor

prophets before the captivity, and not long before Jeremiah, who lived

at the time of the captivity. He foretels the general destruction of

Judah and Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, and sets their sins in order

before them, which had provoked God to bring their ruin upon them,

calls them to repentance, threatens the neighbouring nations with the

like destructions, and gives encouraging promises of their joyful

return out of captivity in due time, which have a reference to the

grace of the gospel. We have, in the

first verse,

an account of the prophet and the date of his prophecy, which

supersedes our enquiry concerning them here.