Jeremiah 17:20

20 and say unto them, `Hear ye the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem that enter in by these gates.

Jeremiah 17:20 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 17:20

And say unto them, hear ye the word of the Lord
Concerning the sanctification of the sabbath; for this was not of human, but of divine institution:

ye kings of Judah;
which must be understood either, as Kimchi thinks, of the then present king and his sons, so called because they would reign after him; for, there was but one king at a time; and who, perhaps, at this time, was Josiah: or else the king and his nobles, the princes of the land, are meant:

and all Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by
these gates;
the people in the several parts of the land of Judea, that came to Jerusalem either for trade and merchandise, or for worship, and all that dwelt in the metropolis; for the business the prophet had to charge them with concerned them all.

Jeremiah 17:20 In-Context

18 Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded; let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed. Bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.

19 Thus said the LORD unto me: "Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;

20 and say unto them, `Hear ye the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem that enter in by these gates.

21 Thus saith the LORD: Take heed for yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;

22 neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.