Jeremiah 22:5

5 But if you ignore these words, I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that this palace will become a ruin.

Jeremiah 22:5 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 22:5

But if ye will not hear these words
Will give no attention, and yield no obedience to them: I swear by myself, saith the Lord;
and by a greater he cannot swear; and that is the reason why he swears by himself, ( Hebrews 6:13 ) ; and as, when he swears to a promise, it shows the immutability of it, the certainty of its performance, and that it is irreversible, and never repented of, nor revoked; so it is when he swears to a threatening. The Targum is,

``by my word I swear:''

that this house shall become a desolation;
meaning not the temple, nor the city, but the king's palace.

Jeremiah 22:5 In-Context

3 The LORD proclaims: Do what is just and right; rescue the oppressed from the power of the oppressor. Don't exploit or mistreat the refugee, the orphan, and the widow. Don't spill the blood of the innocent in this place.

4 If you obey this command, then through the gates of this palace will come kings who occupy the throne of David, riding on chariots and horses along with their entourage and subjects.

5 But if you ignore these words, I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that this palace will become a ruin.

6 The LORD proclaims concerning the palace of the king of Judah: Though you are like Gilead to me, like the summit of Lebanon, I will turn you into a desert—uninhabited cities.

7 I will summon destroyers against you, who will use their weapons to cut down your finest cedars and hurl them into the fire.