1:2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of {b} Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.
(b) Which was a plain by Babylon, where the temple of their great god was, and is here taken for Babylon.
1:2 With part of the vessels - In this expedition Nebuchadnezzar carried away some captives, among whom were Daniel and his friends. His god - Baal, or Bell, and Nebo, which words they put into the names of their kings and favourites.
1:1-7 Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, took Jerusalem, and carried whom and what he pleased away. From this first captivity, most think the seventy years are to be dated. It is the interest of princes to employ wise men; and it is their wisdom to find out and train up such. Nebuchadnezzar ordered that these chosen youths should be taught. All their Hebrew names had something of God in them; but to make them forget the God of their fathers, the Guide of their youth, the heathen gave them names that savoured of idolatry. It is painful to reflect how often public education tends to corrupt the principles and morals.
