Jeremiah 22:6-16

6 For thus saith the LORD unto the king's house of Judah: "Thou art Gilead unto Me, and the head of Lebanon; yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.

7 And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons; and they shall cut down thy choice cedars and cast them into the fire.

8 "And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbor, `Why hath the LORD done thus unto this great city?'

9 Then they shall answer, `Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshiped other gods and served them.'"

10 Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him, but weep sore for him that goeth away; for he shall return no more, or see his native country.

11 For thus saith the LORD concerning Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, who went forth out of this place: "He shall not return thither any more,

12 but he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive and shall see this land no more.

13 "Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness and his chambers by wrong, that useth his neighbor's service without wages, and giveth him nought for his work,

14 that saith, `I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows, and it is ceiled with cedar and painted with vermilion.'

15 Shalt thou reign because thou enclosest thyself in cedar? Did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him?

16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him. Was not this to know Me?" saith the LORD.

Jeremiah 22:6-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 22

This chapter is a prophecy of what should befall the sons of Josiah, Jehoahaz or Shallum; Jehoiakim and Jeconiah. It begins with an exhortation to the then reigning prince, Jehoiakim, his family and court, to do justice, relieve the oppressed, and refrain from doing injury to any; with a promise of prosperity upon so doing, Jer 22:1-4; but, on the contrary behaviour, the king's family, however precious they had been in the sight of the Lord, should be destroyed, by persons described as fit for such work, which would occasion others to inquire the cause of such destruction; when it would be told them, it was for their apostasy from the Lord, their breaking covenant with him, and their idolatry, Jer 22:5-9; then of Shallum, who was then carried captive, it is predicted that he should never return more, which was matter of greater lamentation than the death of his father Josiah, Jer 22:10-12; next Jehoiakim, the present king on the throne, is reproved, and a woe denounced upon him for his injustice, luxury, covetousness, rapine, and murders, Jer 22:13-17; and it is particularly threatened that he should die unlamented, and have no burial, Jer 22:18,19; and then the people of the land are called upon to mourning and lamentation, their kings one after another being carried captive, Jer 22:20-23; also Jeconiah the king's son, and who succeeded him, is threatened with rejection from the Lord, and a delivery of him up into the hand of the king of Babylon, with exile in a strange country, and death there, and that without children; so that Solomon's line should cease in him, Jer 22:24-30.