Jeremiah 22:13

13 "How horrible it will be for the person who builds his house dishonestly and his upper rooms through injustice. He makes his neighbors work for nothing and doesn't pay them for their work.

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 This is what the LORD says about King Josiah's son Shallum, who succeeded his father as king of Judah and left this place: He will never come back here again.

12 He will die in the place where he was taken captive, and he will never see this land again.

13 "How horrible it will be for the person who builds his house dishonestly and his upper rooms through injustice. He makes his neighbors work for nothing and doesn't pay them for their work.

14 He says, 'I will build a large house for myself with big upper rooms.' He cuts out windows in it, panels the rooms with cedar, and paints them red.

15 Do you think you're a better king than others because you use more cedar? Your father ate and drank and did what is fair and right. Everything went well for him.