Jeremiah 22:13

A Message concerning Jehoiakim

13 Woe for the one who builds his palace through unrighteousness, his upper rooms through injustice, who makes his fellow man serve without pay and will not give him his wages,

Jeremiah 22:13 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 22:13

Woe unto him that buildeth his house by righteousness, and
his chambers by wrong
This respects Jehoiakim, the then reigning king; who, not content with the palace the kings of Judah before him had lived in, built another; or however enlarged that, and made great alterations in it; but this he did either with money ill gotten, or perverted to a wrong use, which ought to have been otherwise laid out; or by not paying for the materials of whom they were bought, or the workmen for their workmanship; and perhaps this may be the reason why so much notice is taken of the king's house or palace in the former part of the chapter, and why it is threatened with desolation, ( Jeremiah 22:1 Jeremiah 22:4-6 ) ; [that] useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not
for his work;
or, "that serveth [himself] of his neighbour freely"; or, "makes him serve freely" ^F7; "and giveth him not his work" ^F8; makes him, work for nothing; gives him no wages for it, but keeps back the hire of the labourers; which is a crying sin in any person, and much more in a king; see ( James 5:4 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 (Mnx dbey wherb) "qui socium suum servire facit gratis", Schmidt; "amici sui servitutem exigenti gratis", Junius & Tremellius.
F8 (wl Nty al wlepw) "et opus ejus non dabit ei", Montanus; "mercedem operis", Pagninus.

Jeremiah 22:13 In-Context

11 For this is what the Lord says concerning Shallum son of Josiah, king of Judah, who succeeded Josiah his father as king: "He has left this place-he will never return here again,

12 but he will die in the place where they deported him, never seeing this land again."

13 Woe for the one who builds his palace through unrighteousness, his upper rooms through injustice, who makes his fellow man serve without pay and will not give him his wages,

14 who says: I will build myself a massive palace, with spacious upper rooms. He will cut windows in it, and it will be paneled with cedar and painted with vermilion.

15 Are you a king because you excel in cedar? Your own father, did he not eat and drink? He administered justice and righteousness, then it went well with him.