"I beheld, and lo! the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all 

 the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, 

 and by his fierce anger. 



"For thus hath the Lord said, the whole land shall be desolate; 

 yet will I not make a full end. 



"For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be 

 black; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not 

 repent, neither will I turn back from it." (Jer. iv, 23 - 28) B.C. 

 612. See also Jer, v, 18, 24, 25 ; vi, 8. 



The progress of the drought is referred to in Jer. xn, 4. 

 B.C. 608. 



"How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field 

 wither." 



A desolation for 70 years is predicted in B.C. 606 ending 

 B.C. 536, See Jer. xxv, 8 to 12. 



At the same time the restoration of Israel in B.C. 536 is 

 referred to in xxx, 3, xxxi, 5 : — 



"Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria ; 

 the planters shall plant, and eat them as common things." 



The progress of the drought is again touched upon in 

 B.C. 605. Jer. xvm, 21 ; B.C. 602, Jer. xm, 20 ; B.C. 601, 

 Jer. xiv, 1 :— 



"The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concern 'mu (//>> 

 dearth, 



"2. Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are 

 black unto the ground ; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up. 



"3. And their nobles have sent their little ones to the water- : 

 they came to the pits, and found no water ; they returned with 

 their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and 

 covered their heads. 



"4. Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the 

 earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads. 



"5. Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because 

 there was no grass. 



