Jeremiah 22:19

19 He will be buried [with] the burial of a donkey. [He will be] dragged away and thrown {outside} the gates of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 22:19 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 22:19

He shall be buried with the burial of an ass
Have no burial at all, or no other than what any brute creature has; which, when it dies, is cast into a ditch, and becomes the food of dogs, and the fowls of the air. The "ass" is mentioned, as being a sordid stupid creature; and such an one was this king; drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem;
as the carcass of a beast is dragged about by dogs; or as a malefactor, when executed, is dragged and cast into a ditch: this perhaps was done by the Chaldeans, who, when he was slain, dragged him along, and cast him beyond the gates of Jerusalem. So Josephus F23 says, that when Nebuchadnezzar entered Jerusalem, he slew the most robust and beautiful with Jehoiakim their king, and ordered him to be cast without the walls unburied; and so, though he is said to "sleep with his fathers", yet not to be buried with them, ( 2 Kings 24:6 ) . Kimchi says that he died without Jerusalem, as they were carrying him into captivity a second time; and the Chaldeans would not suffer him to be buried. Jerom reports, from the Hebrew history, that he was killed by the robbers and thieves of the Chaldeans, Syrians, Ammonites, and Moabites. Some think, that as he was bound in chains, in order to be carried to Babylon, that he was had there, and there died, and after his death used in this ignominious manner: and the words will bear to be rendered, "cast forth far beyond the gates of Jerusalem" F24; even as far as Babylon; see ( 2 Chronicles 36:6 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F23 Antiqu. l. 10. c. 6. sect. 3.
F24 (Mlvwry yrevl halhm Klvhw) "et projiciendo procul ultra portas Hierosolymae", Schmidt. So Grotius and Gataker.

Jeremiah 22:19 In-Context

17 "But there is nothing [in] your eyes and your heart {except} your unlawful gain, and on shedding the blood of the innocent, and on committing oppression and extortion."
18 {Therefore} thus says Yahweh concerning Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah: "They will not lament for him, 'Alas, my brother,' or 'Alas, sister.' They will not lament for him, 'Alas, lord,' or 'alas, his majesty.'
19 He will be buried [with] the burial of a donkey. [He will be] dragged away and thrown {outside} the gates of Jerusalem.
20 Go up [to] Lebanon and cry out, and in Bashan lift up your voice, and cry out from Abarim, for all your lovers are shattered.
21 I spoke to you {in the times you were secure}, [and] you said, 'I will not listen!' This [was] your way from your youth, for you have not obeyed my voice.

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Here the subject is supplied from context in the English translation
  • [b]. Literally "from beyond"
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