Jeremiah 22:13

13 "Doom to him who builds palaces but bullies people, who makes a fine house but destroys lives, Who cheats his workers and won'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 For this is God's Word on Shallum son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah: "He's gone from here, gone for good.

12 He'll die in the place they've taken him to. He'll never see home again."

13 "Doom to him who builds palaces but bullies people, who makes a fine house but destroys lives, Who cheats his workers and won't pay them for their work,

14 Who says, 'I'll build me an elaborate mansion with spacious rooms and fancy windows. I'll bring in rare and expensive woods and the latest in interior decor.'

15 So, that makes you a king - living in a fancy palace? Your father got along just fine, didn't he? He did what was right and treated people fairly, And things went well with him.