Jeremiah 29:22

22 And a curse will be taken [up] because of them by all the exiles of Judah who [are] in Babylon, {saying}, "May Yahweh make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,"

Jeremiah 29:22 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 29:22

And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of
Judah which [are] in Babylon
A form of cursing; when they cursed anyone, or wished him ill, it should be in such like manner as follows; so odious and detestable would these men be afterwards to them, whom they, at least some of them, took to be the prophets of the Lord: saying, the Lord make thee like Zedekiah, and like Ahab, whom the king
of Babylon roasted in the fire;
or "burnt them" ^F4; not at once, but with a slow fire; so the Maccabees were roasted,

``Then the king, being in a rage, commanded pans and caldrons to be made hot: '' (2 Maccabees. 7:3)

Burning persons with fire, and casting them into a fiery furnace, were ways used by the Chaldeans in putting persons to death, ( Daniel 3:6 ) ; and roasting men at a fire was used by the Chinese ^F5.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 (Mlq) "combussit", Pagninus; "ustulavit", Munster; so Ben Melech says the word signifies "burning".
F5 Martin Hist. Sinic. p. 257.

Jeremiah 29:22 In-Context

20 And you, hear the word of Yahweh, all [you] exiles whom I sent away from Jerusalem [to] Babylon.

21 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab, the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah, the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you in my name a lie, 'Look, I [am] going to give them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and he will strike them before your eyes.

22 And a curse will be taken [up] because of them by all the exiles of Judah who [are] in Babylon, {saying}, "May Yahweh make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,"

23 because they have done a disgraceful thing in Israel, and they have committed adultery with the wives of their neighbors, and they have spoken words in my name, lies that I have not commanded them, and I [am] he who knows, and [I am] a witness,' {declares} Yahweh."

24 And to Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall say, {saying},

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew "exile"
• [b]. Literally "to say"