Yirmeyah 22:13

13 Woe unto him that buildeth his bais but not by tzedek (righteousness), and his aliyyot (upper chambers) but not by mishpat; that useth his neighbor’s service without wages, and giveth him no pay for his work;

Yirmeyah 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.

Yirmeyah 22:13 In-Context

11 For thus saith Hashem touching Shallum Ben Yoshiyah Melech Yehudah, which reigned in place of Yoshiyah aviv, which went forth out of this makom; he shall not return there any more;

12 But he shall die in the makom where they have led him captive [into the Golus], and he shall see HaAretz Hazot no more.

13 Woe unto him that buildeth his bais but not by tzedek (righteousness), and his aliyyot (upper chambers) but not by mishpat; that useth his neighbor’s service without wages, and giveth him no pay for his work;

14 That saith, I will build me a large bais (mansion) and spacious aliyyot (upper rooms), and cutteth him out chalonot (windows); and panel it with erez (cedar), and paint with bright red.

15 Shalt thou reign, because thou enclose thyself in erez (cedar)? Did not Avicha eat and drink, and do mishpat and tzedakah, and then it was tov (well) with him?