Call to repentance 1
Justice for Shallum 10
Justice for Jehoiakim 13
Justice for Coniah 20
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| 1 ¶ Thus saith the LORD;
Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
2 And 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: |
2 - Hear More than the king heard. He may have been in a special meeting. It was at the "gates" indicating the place for meeting. |
| .3
Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver
the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence
to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood
in this place.
4 For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people. |
3 -
Execute
ye judgment Or "The plea was for fairness.
3 - Do no violence ... stranger .... Compare re0606. |
| 5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation. | 5 -
Sware
See ge2216,
he0613.
5 - House The palace v1. |
| 6 For thus saith the LORD
unto the king's house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of
Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are
not inhabited.
7 And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. |
6 -
Gilead
... Lebanon Special wood from these areas were apparently used
in the palace. Perhaps Jeremiah pointed to the walls and ceilings around
him and the king.
7 - Destroyers ... cut down The armies may have taken some of the trees but what they took with weapons was the buildings of the city. See je5212, 2ki2508. |
| 8 And many nations shall pass
by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore
hath the LORD done thus unto this great city?
9 Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them. |
9 - Because ... forsaken the covenant See de2924. The city and the temple were to have drawn people to the worship of the true God. |
| .10 ¶ Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country. | 10-Dead Jeremiah had written about Josiah 2ch3525. |
| 11 For thus saith the LORD
touching Shallum 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:
12 But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more. |
11
- Shallum Or Jehoahaz 2ki2330,
1ch0315,
2ch3601.
12 - Die Fulfilled, 2ki2334. |
| .13
Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers
by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth
him not for his work;
14 That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion. |
13
- Buildeth ... unrighteousness We see Jehoiakim hardened
to the hardships brought on by the siege and still demanding a luxurious
house at the expense of his people 2ki2335.
13 - Chambers Literally, "roof chambers." |
| 15 Shalt thou reign, because
thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do
judgment and justice, and then it was well with him?
16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD. 17 But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it. |
15
- Closest The Hebrew word also means "contend" as at je1205.
"Do you think you are a king because you compete in cedar? . . ." (RSV). We also get the idea that he was surrounding himself with cedar. Might the popularity of this wood have been responsible for the deforestation which leaves almost no Cedar trees in Palestine today? |
| .18
Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king
of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah
sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!
19 He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem. |
18
- Not lament Jehoiakim was wicked and selfish.
19 - Burial of an ass A donkey would have been left for birds and animals to eat. He was killed by Nebuchadnezzar and left outside of Jerusalem 2ki2406. Compare ps04919. |
| .20
¶ Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and
cry from the passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed.
.21
I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear.
This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice.
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20
- Go up to Lebanon From Anti-Libanus. These "... together
with Bashan and Abarim, which we here translate 'passages,'
were on the way by which the captives should be led out of their own country."
(Clarke commentary)
21 - I spake "In all states and circumstances I warned thee by my prophets; and thou wilt only be ashamed of thy conduct when thou shalt be stripped of all thy excellencies, and reduced to poverty and disgrace, Jer 22:22." (Clarke). 22 - Wind A wind from the east (the direction of Babylon also describing the route to it) was a peril to Palestine because it tended to dry up what little moisture they had. See ge4123, jb3824, je1817, ez1912. Here it is a prophecy that, as a wind, God would bring devastation along with leaving the city. |
| .24
As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah
were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;
25 And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, 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. 26 And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die. 27 But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return. 28 Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not? |
24
- Coniah A shortened form of "Jeconiah or Jechoaichin je2401,
je3701.
Jehoiachin reigned for about three months of 597 BC.
24 - Though Coniah ... were the signet A signet ring validates decrees 1ki2108, hg0223. Compare so0806. God had to remove Satan ez2816. Earthly importance would not keep Him from removing a wicked king. 26 - Cast thee out and thy mother She may have influenced his reign as well as his childhood for evil pr2206, 2ki24,6,8,15. See je1318. 27 - They Coniah and his mother. He passes from the second person (verse 26) to the third person here, to express alienation. The king is as it were put out of sight, as if unworthy of being spoken with directly. 27 - Desire Literally, "lift up their soul" (Jer 44:14; Ps 24:4; 25:1). Judea was the land which they in Babylon should pine after in vain. |
| 29 O earth, earth, earth,
hear the word of the LORD.
30 Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah. |
29
- Earth Or "land." Repetition implies emphasis lu2231,
jn0851,
jn1001.
Also the punishment of three people has been described.
30 - Not prosper, sitting Zerubbabel later led the Jews who returned from exile but was not their king ezr0202. |
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