THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET
JEREMIAH

Jeremiah 22

1An exhortation to the king's house to execute justice without oppression, enforced with promises and threats. 10The judgment of Shallum, 13of Jehoiakim, 20and of Coniah.


1THUS saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,

2And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:

3Thus saith the LORD; 1Executea ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and 2do no wrong, 3do no violence to the stranger,b the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.

1 See 1 Kings 10 on verse 9.

a Jer. 21:12.

2 Or, plague, spoil not.

3 To them, or to any man.

b Jer. 7:6.

4For if ye do 4this thing 5indeed, thenc shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of 6David, riding in chariots and on horses, 7he, and his servants, and his people.

4 Or, this word.

5 Hebr. doing shall do.

c Jer. 17:25.

6 That is, in David’s stead.

7 The king, who shall be at that time.

5But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.

6For thus saith the LORD unto the king's house of Judah; Thou art 8Gilead unto me, and the 9head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.10

8 That is, thus blessed by Me with all things which are desirable and pleasant, that thou art like unto the land of Gilead. See Gen. 37:25. Or (as some): thou shalt be unto me, etc., that is, I will spare thee as little as I have done to Gilead. See 2 Kings 15:29.

9 Exalted as such in honor and dignity as the top of Lebanon or the highest cedars which stand upon it. Hebr. head.

10 An abrupt kind of speech, much used in making oaths. See Deut. 1 on verse 35.

7And I will 11prepare destroyersd against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy 12choice cedars, and 13cast them into the fire.

11 That is, separate, ordain, appoint, prepare, arm. See Isa. 13 on verse 3, and compare Jer. 6 on verse 4.

d Jer. 15:6.

12 Hebr. the choice of your cedars, that is (as the sequel shows), thy best and choicest houses built of cedar wood. Compare verses 14, 15; Jer. 21 on verse 14, and the manner of speech with Gen. 23:6.

13 Or, throw them down for the fire.

8And many 14nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Whereforee hath the LORD done thus unto this great city?

14 Or, Gentiles.

e Deut. 29:24; 1 Kings 9:8.

9Then they 15shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.

15 Or, they shall say, that is, they shall answer.

10¶Weep ye not for the 16dead, neither bemoan him: but weep 17sore for him 18that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.

16 Namely, the good king Josiah, who lately died in the battle against Pharaoh-Nechoh and was greatly lamented by the people, 2 Kings 23:29; 2 Chron. 35:23, 24. This king was taken away before these fearful desolations came, as was foretold 2 Kings 22:20.

17 Hebr. weep weeping.

18 Namely, Jehoahaz, whom Pharaoh-Nechoh had carried away captive into Egypt, 2 Kings 23:33, 34, where he also died. Some apply this to king Jehoiakim, who was afterwards carried away captive into Babel, and died there, 2 Kings 24:15; 25:29, as also Zedekiah, 2 Kings 25:7, and render it the goer away, or, him that shall go away, but the following words are to be heeded.

11For thus saith the LORD touching 19Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more:

19 This Shallum (according to the opinion of some) is Joahaz, also called Jehoahaz and Johanan, the son of Josiah. See 2 Kings 23:31; 2 Chron. 36:1, 2. Compare 2 Kings 15:13; 23:31. In 1 Chron. 3:15 a fourth son of Josiah is also called by this name.

12But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.

1320Woe unto himf that buildeth his house 21by unrighteousness, and his chambers 22by wrong; that useth 23his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his 24work;

20 Or, Ah, O thou that buildest, etc. This, as also what follows, refers to king Jehoiakim (see verse 18), who was charged with pride, excess, injustice, covetousness and tyranny.

f Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:14, 15; Hab. 2:9.

21 Hebr. by not righteousness, that is, by no righteousness, or, without righteousness.

22 Hebr. by not right.

23 Or, serveth himself of his neighbor, making use of his labors, or, that compelleth him to serve him. Compare Jer. 25:14; 27:7; 30:8; 34:9.

24 Hebr. properly: work or labour, that is, wages for work, as Num. 22:7 divinations, or predictions, for wages of them. See further Lev. 19:13; Isa. 49:4; Ezek. 29:20.

14That saith, I will build me a 25wide house and 26large chambers, 27and cutteth him out windows; and it is 28cieled with cedar, and 29painted with 30vermilion.g

25 Hebr. an house of measures, that is, exceeding or above measure, high or great. Compare Num. 13 on verse 32.

26 In which a man is able to take a breath, or through which the wind is able to blow, that is, spacious, airy.

27 Other, that renteth out from thence for himself my windows, and which is cieled with cedar, and painteth it with vermilion, etc. Meaning that Jehoiakim caused to tear out from God’s house, to accommodate his own building, as much as he pleased, causing it afterward to be painted over with all manner of colors, as that it could not be perceived.

28 His house is ceiled everywhere and paneled with beams and planks of cedar.

29 Hebr. anointed, or anointing, that is, he causes it to be painted, colored or pictured.

30 Or, red ochre, or, purple-blue; some conceive that it is properly Indico, which is made of an Indian weed, or (as some do write) growing in the Indian reed, and is called in Hebrew shashar, from a people in the Indies (called Sasuri), from where it may have come. The sense is, that he beautified his house with all kinds of foreign, rare and precious colors and pictures. Compare Ezek. 23:14, where the very same Hebrew word is found.

g mercuric sulfide used as a bright red pigment

15Shalt thou 31reign, because thou 32closest thyself in cedar? did not thy 33father 34eat and drink, and do 35judgment and justice, and 36then it was well with him?

31 That is, make thy kingdom strong and lasting against the threatenings of God.

32 That is, thus to vie above thy father in showing off and flaunting the buildings of cedar?

33 The pious king Josiah, as verse 18.

34 That is, lived quiet, at ease, cheerfully. See Eccl. 3:13.

35 As verse 3.

36 Hebr. then it was good or well; also in the sequel. Compare Isa. 3:10, 11, where the Hebrew words, signifying good and evil, are likewise so used for faring well or ill.

16He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to 37know me? saith the LORD.

37 That is, an evidence and fruit of My true knowledge?

17But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for 38thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for 39violence, to do it.

38 Or, thy gain.

39 Hebr. running, as 2 Sam. 18:27, and consequently running upon, understand it of violence, assault, trampling down, bruising in pieces, as here.

18Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; Theyh shall not 40lament for him, saying, 41Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!

h Jer. 16:4, 5, 6.

40 Or, bemoan, for his death. See Gen. 23 on verse 2, and of Jehoiakim’s father, 2 Chron. 35:24, 25.

41 These are forms, usual in lamenting for the dead.

19He shall be buried with the 42burial of an ass, drawni and castj forth 43beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

42 That is, he shall be cast away unburied, as a carcass of an ass.

i Jer. 15:3.

j Jer. 36:30.

43 Outside this land, in Babel, or on the way, when he was carried to Babel. Compare 2 Kings 24 on verse 6; 2 Chron. 36 on verse 6; Jer. 36:30.

2044Go up to 45Lebanon, and 46cry; and 47lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the 48passages: 49for all thy lovers are 50destroyed.

44 Thou daughter of My people, that is, the people of Judah.

45 These mountains were situated in the north and north-east of Canaan, toward Assyria.

46 To the Assyrians for help; this is spoken ironically, as follows.

47 Hebr. give.

48 Or, ferries, namely, of the rivers, which they were to pass over to go into Egypt, in order that the Egyptians may come and help you. Hebr. abarim, which some take to be the mountain of Abarim, whereof mention is made Num. 33 on verse 47.

49 As if the Lord would say: It is in vain, for, both the Assyrians and the Egyptians are subdued, destroyed and made impotent by the king of Babel. Compare Jer. 2:36; Ezek. 16:26, 28; 23:7, 8.

50 See Jer. 4 on verse 6.

21I spake unto thee in thy 51prosperity; but thou saidst, I will notk hear. This hath been thy 52manner from thy 53youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice.

51 Hebr. prosperities, or, quietnesses, that is, I gave thee warning, when thou wast yet in thy prosperity.

k Jer. 5:23; 7:23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28; 11:7, 8; 13:10, 11; 16:12; 17:23; 18:12; 19:15.

52 That is, thy way. See Gen. 6 on verse 12.

53 Ever since that I took you to be My people, and gave you My laws.

2254The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy 55lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.

54 That is, all thy spiritual and secular rulers shall be confounded in their vain imaginations, counsels and hopes, etc., which shall no more strengthen them, than when a man thinks to live by the wind. Compare Eccl. 1 on verse 14; Hosea 12:2. Other, graze, that is, they shall vanish away as smoke before the wind.

55 Priests and false prophets, with whom thou hast committed fornication.

23O inhabitant of 56Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, 57how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!

56 That is, who now boasts with the buildings of cedar, which thou hast taken from Lebanon. This mainly refers to the king’s house, of which in the sequel.

57 As if the Lord said: No mercy or favor shall be shown to thee at all by the Babylonians, but the contrary, as follows. Other, how gracious or acceptable shalt thou be! Or, how wilt thou supplicate!

24As I live, saith the LORD, though 58Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the 59signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck 60thee 61thence;

58 Hebr. Chonjahu; also called Jeconiah, 1 Chron. 3:16, and Jehoiachin, 2 Kings 24:6, 8.

59 That is, never so lowly and comely a young man, beautified and crowned by Me with sundry blessings and benefits and of the seed of David, of which they conceived that the succession would be undoubted, and that they had no cause to fear any danger from Babel. See similar manner of speech Cant. 8:6; Hag. 2:23.

60 Here God speaks to Coniah himself.

61 This may be understood of God’s right hand, or of Jerusalem, from the king’s court and from Judah, in regard of his carrying away to Babel, as follows.

25And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy 62life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.

62 See to take away thy life; as often.

26And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die.

27But to the land whereunto they 63desire to return, thither shall they not return.

63 Hebr. they lift up their soul, that is, to which they have a desire, mind, longing. See Deut. 24 on verse 15; Psalm 24 on verse 4. Also Jer. 44:14.

2864Is this man Coniah a despised broken 65idol? is he a 66vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and 67his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?

64 What is said here is expounded by way of a question, as it were in the name of the people, on which God’s answer follows. It appears that he was much esteemed of, by reason of his comeliness.

65 Or, image that is despised and ought to be beaten in pieces, so that the pieces are scattered abroad. Of the Hebrew word, signifying an idol or idolatrous image, see 1 Sam. 31 on verse 9; 2 Sam. 5 on verse 21.

66 Or, wherein is no pleasant thing. Compare Jer. 48:38; Hosea 8:8.

67 That is, children, which he might receive, or have had (as some do conclude from Mat. 1:12) though they did not succeed him in the kingdom, as appears in verse 30.

29O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

3068Thus saith the LORD, 69Write ye this 70man 71childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, 72sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.

68 The words of this verse are God’s answer to the previous question of the people.

69 Note it down as a remembrance, as a sure and irrevocable decree of God.

70 Coniah.

71 Hebr. quite bereaved, or the most bereaved, namely, of posterity or successors, as some; or, as others, of land and goods, instead that they imagine that his seed would reign forever. See hereof 1 Chron. 3 on verse 16.

72 Some are of the opinion that after the Babylonian captivity, not Solomon’s, but Nathan’s (Solomon’s brother) posterity had the government. Others conceive that Salathiel was his own true son by birth, but that Zerubbabel, who succeeded him after the Babylonian captivity, was no more than a prince or governor, as appears in Hag. 1:1, and in the book of Ezra, and no ways a king, sitting upon the throne of David.