Jeremiah 13:18

18 Speak to the king and his mother. Tell them, "Come down from your thrones. Your glorious crowns are about to fall from your heads."

Jeremiah 13:18 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 13:18

Say unto the king, and to the queen
Jehoiachin, and his mother Nehushta, as it is generally interpreted by the Jewish commentators, and others; who, with many princes and officers, were carried captive into Babylon, ( 2 Kings 24:12-15 ) or rather Zedekiah and his wife; since the captivity after threatened is a perfect and complete one, which Jehoiachin's was not: humble yourselves, sit down;
or, "sit down humbled" F4; come down from your thrones, and sit in the dust; humble yourselves before the Lord for your own sins, and the sins of the people; in times of general corruption, and which threatens a nation with ruin, it becomes kings and princes to set an example of repentance, humiliation, and reformation; though it may be this is rather a prediction of what would be, that they should descend from their throne, and lose their grandeur, and be in a low and abject condition, than an exhortation to what was their duty; since it follows: for your principalities shall come down;
their royal state and greatness, and all the ensigns of it; and especially such as they had upon their heads, as the word used denotes, and as the following explanation shows: even the crown of your glory;
or glorious crown, which should fall from their heads, or be taken from them, when they should be no more served in state, or treated as crowned heads.


FOOTNOTES:

F4 (wbv wlypvh) "degite humiliter", Castalio; "abjectissime considite", Junius & Tremellius; "loco humili considite", Piscator

Jeremiah 13:18 In-Context

16 Give glory to the LORD your God. Honor him before he sends darkness to cover the land. Do it before you trip and fall on the darkened hills. You hope that light will come. But he will turn it into thick darkness. He will change it to deep shadows.
17 If you don't listen, I will sob in secret. Because you are so proud, I will sob bitterly. Tears will flow from my eyes. The LORD's flock will be taken away as prisoners.
18 Speak to the king and his mother. Tell them, "Come down from your thrones. Your glorious crowns are about to fall from your heads."
19 The gates of the cities in the Negev Desert will be shut tight. There won't be anyone to open them. You will be carried away as prisoners. You will be taken away completely.
20 Jerusalem, look up! Your enemies are coming from the north. Where is the flock you were supposed to take care of? Where are the sheep you were so proud of?
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