Jeremiah 22:5

5 "¹But if you will not obey these words, I ²swear by Myself," declares the LORD, "that this house will become a desolation.""'

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 'Thus says the LORD , "Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.

4 "For if you men will indeed perform this thing, then kings will enter the gates of this house, sitting in David's place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, even the king himself and his servants and his people.

5 "But if you will not obey these words, I swear by Myself," declares the LORD , "that this house will become a desolation.""'

6 For thus says the LORD concerning the house of the king of Judah: "You are like Gilead to Me, Like the summit of Lebanon; Yet most assuredly I will make you like a wilderness, Like cities which are not inhabited.

7 "For I will set apart destroyers against you, Each with his weapons; And they will cut down your choicest cedars And throw them on the fire.

Cross References

• 1. Jeremiah 17:27; Jeremiah 26:4
• 2. Genesis 22:16; Amos 6:8; Hebrews 6:13