1.
Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
the LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .
Go down. Compare Jeremiah 36:12 .
king of Judah: i.e. Jehoiakim.
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:
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.
Execute ye, &c. See note on Jeremiah 7:5 .
judgment and righteousness. Figure of speech Hendiadys = judgment, yea, righteous judgment.
spoiled = robbed.
no. nor. neither. Note the Figure of speech Paradiastole .
stranger = sojourner.
fatherless, nor the widow. Put by Figure of speech Synecdoche (of Species), for all afflicted ones.
innocent blood. See note on Jeremiah 7:6 .
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.
upon the throne of David = for David upon his throne.
servants. Hebrew text reads "servant", but some codices, with two early printed editions, read plural, as in Authorized Version.
5.
But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.
saith the LORD = [is] Jehovah's oracle.
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.
house of Judah. See note on Jeremiah 3:18 .
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.
prepare = set apart. Compare Jeremiah 6:4 ; Jeremiah 51:27 , Jeremiah 51:28 .
cedars. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), for the houses built of cedar.
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?
Wherefore . . . ? Reference to Pentateuch. See note on Jeremiah 16:10 .
9.
Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.
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.
the dead: i.e. Josiah.
him: i.e. Jehoiachin.
weep sore = weep ye, weep on. Figure of speech Polyptoton. App-6 .
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:
Shallum the son of Josiah. Josiah had four sons (1 Chronicles 3:15 ). Shallum had another name Jehoahaz. Compare 2 Kings 23:31 , 2 Kings 23:34 . Zedekiah must have been younger than Jehoiakim or Jehoahaz, for he was but twenty-one when he began to reign, and therefore only ten when Jehoiakim began to reign.
12.
But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.
die in the place, &c. i.e. in Egypt. He was the first king of Israel to do so. 2 Kings 23:34 .
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;
chambers = upper chambers.
by wrong = in injustice.
useth his neighbour's service, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 19:13 ).
work. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), for the wages earned by his labour = giveth him not [wages] 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.
large = airy, or roomy.
windows = its windows.
cieled = panelled.
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?
justice = righteousness, as in Jeremiah 22:3 .
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.
He: i.e. Josiah.
judged the cause. Figure of speech Polyptoton. Hebrew judged the judgment. Figure of speech Erotesis by Ellipsis = "[Did he not] judge righteous judgment? "Figure of speech Hendiadys, as in Jeremiah 22:3 .
poor = wretched. Hebrew. 'anah. See note on "poverty", Proverbs 6:11 .
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.
But thine eyes: or, Verily, thou hast neither eyes nor heart save for, &c.
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.
buried with the burial of an ass. Note the Figure of speech Oxymoron , which gives the meaning that he was not buried at all (for asses have no funerals). Jehoiakim is the only king of Judah whose burial is not recorded. See note on 2 Kings 24:6 .
drawn, &c.: i.e. the ass, not Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 22:26 ).
cast forth. Compare Isaiah 26:19 .
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.
Go up, &c. Note the Figure of speech Eironeia. App-6 .
cry: the cry of distress.
the passages = Abarim: the mountains beyond Jordan, the range of Nebo. Compare Numbers 27:12 ; Numbers 33:47 , Numbers 33:48 .
lovers: i.e. the neighbouring nations, to whom they looked instead of to God.
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.
prosperity. Hebrew, plural of majesty = thy great prosperity.
obeyedst not = hearkenedst not to.
22.
The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.
wind. Hebrew. ruach. App-9 .
pastors. Put for rulers of all kinds. See notes on Jeremiah 2:8 ; Jeremiah 3:15 , &c.
wickedness. Hebrew. ra'a'. App-44 . Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), for the cause of the calamity.
23.
O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!
O. Figure of speech Apostrophe.
inhabitant = inhabitress: i.e. Zion.
Lebanon. Figure of speech Metalepsis : "Lebanon" put for the cedars grown there, then "cedars" put for the houses built of the timber.
how gracious = how greatly to be pitied.
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;
Coniah = (by Figure of speech Aphaeresis) , by which the first syllable is cut off. He is called "Jeconiah" (1 Chronicles 3:16 ), which means "Let Jehovah establish"; but the cutting off of the Divine name "Je" (for Jah or Jehovah) is meant to show the departure of Jehovah from Jeconiah, and that he himself would be cut off.
signet. Compare Haggai 2:23 .
right hand. Figure of speech Anthropopatheia.
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.
desire to return = are lifting up their soul. Hebrew. nephesh.
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?
man. Hebrew. 'ish. App-14 .
29.
O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.
earth, earth, earth. Figure of speech Epizeuxis , for great emphasis.
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.
childless: i.e. as to the throne (see last clause). Not one of his seven sons (1 Chronicles 3:17 , 1 Chronicles 3:18 ) sat upon his throne.
a man = a strong man. Hebrew. geber. App-14 .