Jeremiah 22:5

5 But if you don't do what I say, I will take an oath on myself," declares the LORD, "that this palace will become a pile of rubble.

Jeremiah 22:5 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 22:5

But if ye will not hear these words
Will give no attention, and yield no obedience to them: I swear by myself, saith the Lord;
and by a greater he cannot swear; and that is the reason why he swears by himself, ( Hebrews 6:13 ) ; and as, when he swears to a promise, it shows the immutability of it, the certainty of its performance, and that it is irreversible, and never repented of, nor revoked; so it is when he swears to a threatening. The Targum is,

``by my word I swear:''

that this house shall become a desolation;
meaning not the temple, nor the city, but the king's palace.

Jeremiah 22:5 In-Context

3 "This is what the LORD says: Judge fairly, and do what is right. Rescue those who have been robbed from those who oppress them. Don't mistreat foreigners, orphans, or widows, and don't oppress them. Don't kill innocent people in this place.

4 If you do what I say, then the kings who sit on David's throne will ride through the gates of this palace in chariots and on horses along with their officials and their people.

5 But if you don't do what I say, I will take an oath on myself," declares the LORD, "that this palace will become a pile of rubble.

6 "This is what the LORD says about the palace of the king of Judah: This palace is like Gilead to me, like the top of Lebanon. I will certainly turn it into a desert, into cities that no one lives in.

7 I will send people to destroy you. They will have their own weapons. They will cut down your finest cedar trees and throw them on a fire.