Jeremiah 22:13

13 Woe to him that buildeth his house in unrightfulness, and his solars not in doom; he shall oppress his friend in vain, and he shall not yield his hire to him. (Woe to him who buildeth his house in unrighteousness, and his rooms with injustice; he shall make his neighbours work for nothing, and he shall not pay them their wages.)

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 the Lord saith these things to Shallum, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, that reigned for Josiah, his father, He that went out of this place, shall no more turn again hither; (For the Lord saith these things to Shallum, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, who reigned for his father Josiah, He who went out of this place, shall no more return here;)

12 but in the place to which I have translated him, there he shall die, and he shall no more see this land. (but in the place to which I have carried him away captive, there he shall die, and he shall never see this land again.)

13 Woe to him that buildeth his house in unrightfulness, and his solars not in doom; he shall oppress his friend in vain, and he shall not yield his hire to him. (Woe to him who buildeth his house in unrighteousness, and his rooms with injustice; he shall make his neighbours work for nothing, and he shall not pay them their wages.)

14 Which saith, I shall build to me a large house, and wide solars; which openeth windows to himself, and maketh couples of cedar, and painteth with red colour. (Who saith, I shall build for myself a large house with wide rooms; and I shall cut out windows for it, and make couplings out of cedar, and paint it with red colour.)

15 Whether thou shalt reign, for thou comparisonest thee to a cedar? whether thy father ate not, and drank, and did doom and rightfulness then, when it was well to him? (Shalt thou reign, because thy cedar is finer in comparison to others? did not thy father eat, and drink, and did justly and with righteousness, and was it not well with him?)