Jeremiah 22:13

13 A curse is on him who is building his house by wrongdoing, and his rooms by doing what is not right; who makes use of his neighbour without payment, and gives him nothing for his work;

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 this is what the Lord has said about Shallum, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in place of Josiah his father, who went out from this place: He will never come back there again:

12 But death will come to him in the place where they have taken him away prisoner, and he will never see this land again.

13 A curse is on him who is building his house by wrongdoing, and his rooms by doing what is not right; who makes use of his neighbour without payment, and gives him nothing for his work;

14 Who says, I will make a wide house for myself, and rooms of great size, and has windows cut out, and has it roofed with cedar and painted with bright red.

15 Are you to be a king because you make more use of cedar than your father? did not your father take food and drink and do right, judging in righteousness, and then it was well for him?