Jeremiah 22:13
Ver. 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, Jer 22:1;[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" {g}; "and giveth him not his work" {h}; 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 Jas 5:4.{g} Mnx dbey wherb "qui socium suum servire facit gratis", Schmidt; "amici sui servitutem exigenti gratis", Junius & Tremellius. {h} wl Nty al wlepw "et opus ejus non dabit ei", Montanus; "mercedem operis", Pagninus. Jeremiah 22:14Ver. 14. That saith, I will build me a wide house,.... Or, "a house of measures", or, "dimensions" {i}; a very large house, whose length and breadth measure much consisting of many spacious rooms, upper as well as lower; as follows:and large chambers; or, "widened ones"; very spacious and roomy; or "aired", or "airy {k} ones"; through which the wind blows, or into which much air comes; so that they were good summer chambers, for which they might be built:and cutteth him out windows; to let in light and air, as well as for ornament. Some render it, "and teareth my windows" {l}; as if he had taken some of the windows of the temple, and placed them in his palace, and so was guilty of sacrilege; but this is not very likely:and [it is] ceiled with cedar; wainscotted with it; or the roof of it was covered with cedar, as Jarchi; or its beams and rafters were made of cedar, as Kimchi; it might be lined throughout with cedar:and painted with vermilion. The Vulgate Latin version renders it, "sinopis"; so called from Sinope, a city in Pontus, where it is found; of which Pliny says {m} there are three sorts, one red, another reddish, and a third between them both: this is the same with "minium" or vermilion. Strabo {n} says, in Cappadocia the best Sinopic minium or vermilion is produced, and which vies with that of Spain; and he says it is called sinopic, because the merchants used to bring it to that place (Sinope) before the commerce of the Ephesians reached the men of this country, Cappadocia; other versions {o}, besides the Vulgate Latin, so render it here. Schindler {p} renders the Hebrew word by this; and also by "cinnabar", which is a red mineral stone, and chiefly found in quicksilver mines; and may be thought to be quicksilver petrified, and fixed by means of sulphur, and a subterraneous heat; for artificial cinnabar is made of a mixture of mercury and sulphur sublimed, and reduced into a kind of fine red glebe; and this is called by the painters vermilion; and is made more beautiful by grinding it with gum water, and a little saffron; which two drugs prevent its growing black: and there are two kinds of vermilion; the one natural, which is found in some silver mines, in form of a ruddy sand, of a bright beautiful red colour; the other is made of artificial cinnabar, ground up with white wine, and afterwards with the whites of eggs. There are two sorts of it that we have; the one of a deep red; the other pale; but are the same; the difference of colour only proceeding from the cinnabar's being more or less ground; when fine ground, the vermilion is pale, and is preferred to the coarser and redder. It is of considerable use among painters in oil and miniature {q}; and here it may be rendered, "anointed with minium" or "vermilion" {r}; but it is questionable whether this vermilion was known so early. Kimchi here says, it is the same which the Arabians call "zingapher", or cinnabar. The Hebrew word is "shashar", which Junius and Tremellius translate "indico" {s}; and observe from Pliny {t}, that there is a people in India called Sasuri, from whence it is brought; but this is of a different colour from minium or vermilion; the one is blue, the other red; but, be it which it will, the painting was for ornament; and either colours look beautiful.{i} twdm tyb "domum mensurarum", Vatablus, Montanus, Calvin, Schmidt. {k} Myxwrm "perflabilia", Piscator; "vento exposita", Vatablus, Montanus. {l} ynwlx wl erqw "et lacerat sibi fenestras meas", Junius & Tremellius. {m} Nat. Hist. l. 35. c. 6. {n} Geograph. l. 12. p. 373. {o} Pagninus, Tigurine version, Castalio. {p} Lexic. Pentaglott. col. 1179. So Castel Lex. Polyglott. col. 3664. {q} Chambers's Cyclopaedia, in the words "Cinnabar" and "Vermilion". {r} rvvb xwvm "ungendo in minio", Montanus; "uncta est minio", Vatablus, Calvin; "ungit minio", Cocceius. {s} So Buxtorf, Gussetius, Stockius. {t} Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 9. Jeremiah 22:15Ver. 15. Shalt thou reign because thou closest [thyself] in cedar?.... Dost thou think that thou shalt reign long, and thy throne be established firm and secure, because of thy cedar wainscot? as if that was a protection to thee, and were like the fortifications of a city or tower; when it may easily be broke to pieces, or burnt with fire; and must be a poor defence against a powerful enemy. The Targum is,"dost thou think to be as the first king?''as David; to be as great a prince, to keep as grand a court, and live in as splendid a manner, as he? The Septuagint version, instead of "ares", a cedar, reads "Ahaz", and takes it for the proper name of a king of Judah; and the Arabic version reads "Ahab"; and so the Alexandrian copy of the Septuagint; and both confound it with the next clause; the former rendering the words thus, "shalt thou reign, that thou provokest in", or "after the manner of Ahaz thy father?" and the latter thus,"thou shalt not reign, because thou imitatest the original of Ahab thy father;''but both wrong; though Grotius seems to approve of this reading:did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice? that is, Josiah his father, who ate and drank in moderation, and lived cheerfully and comfortably; and kept a good table like a prince, without such a magnificent palace as he, his son, had built; and without oppressing his subjects, and detaining the hire of the labourer: living in a grand manner, becoming a king, may be done consistent with doing justice and judgment; let but that be done, and a prince will not be blamed for living like himself, and for supporting the dignity of his character and office, as Josiah did:[and] then [it was] well with him; or, "therefore [it was] well with him" {u} he was blessed of God, and was prosperous and successful; he was happy himself as a prince, and his people under him, both enjoying peace and prosperity; there are never better times than when justice is done; by it the throne is established.{u} wl bwj za "ideo bene fuit ei"; so Noldius renders the particle, Concord. Par. Ebr. p. 7. Jeremiah 22:16Ver. 16. He judged the cause of the poor and needy,.... Who could not defend themselves against the rich and the mighty; he took their cause in hand, and, having heard it, determined it in their favour, and did them justice, as princes and civil magistrates ought to do:then [it was] well [with him]; this is repeated, not only to show the certainty of it, but that it might be observed, and his example followed:[was] not this to know me? saith the Lord; it is not by words only, but by deeds, that men show that they know the Lord; for some in words profess to know him, who in works deny him; when princes do the duty of their office, they thereby declare that they know and own the Lord, by, and under whom, they reign; that they have the fear of him before their eyes; this is a practical knowledge of him, and is well pleasing to him. The Targum is,"is not this the knowledge with which I am well pleased? saith the Lord.'' Jeremiah 22:17Ver. 17. But thine eyes and thine heart [are] not but for thy covetousness,.... He was wholly intent upon gratifying that lust; his heart was meditating, contriving, and forming schemes for that purpose; and his eyes were looking out here and there for proper objects and opportunities to exercise it:and for to shed innocent blood; in order to get their money, goods, and possessions into his hands; avarice often leads to murder:and for oppression, and for violence, to do [it]; by making incursions, and seizing upon the properties of men, and converting them to his own use; so true it is, that covetousness, or the love of money, is the root of all evil, 1Ti 6:10. Jeremiah 22:18Ver. 18. Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning Jehoiakim,.... This shows who is before spoken of and described; Jehoiakim, the then reigning king in Judah, whose name was Eliakim, but was changed by Pharaoh king of Egypt, when he deposed his brother Jehoahaz or Shallum, and set him on the throne, 2Ki 23:34;the son of Josiah king of Judah; and who seems to have been his eldest son, though his brother Jehoahaz reigned before him; for he was but twenty three years of age when he began his reign, and he reigned but three months; and Jehoiakim was twenty five years old when he succeeded him, 2Ki 23:31; his relation to Josiah is mentioned, not so much for his honour, but rather to his disgrace, and as an aggravation of his wickedness, that having so religious a parent, and such a religious education, and the advantage of such an example, and yet did so sadly degenerate: and it also suggests that this would be no security to him from the divine vengeance; but rather provoke it, to deal more severely with him;they shall not lament for him; that is, his people, his subjects, shall not lament for him when dead, as they did for his father Josiah; so far from having any real grief or inward sorrow on account of his death, that they should not so much as outwardly express any, or use the common form at meeting together:[saying], ah my brother! or, ah sister! a woman meeting her brother would not say to him, O my brother, what bad news is this! we have lost our king! nor he reply to her, O sister, it is so, the loss is great indeed! for this is not to be understood of the funeral "lessus" at the interment of a king or queen; lamenting them under these appellations of brother or sister, which is denied of this prince. Kimchi thinks it has reference to his relations, as that they should not mourn for him, and say, "ah my brother!" nor for his wife, who died at the same time, though not mentioned, ah sister! both should die unlamented, as by their subjects, so by their nearest friends and relations;they shall not lament for him, [saying], ah lord! or, ah his glory! O our liege lord and sovereign, he is gone! where are his glory and majesty now? where are his crown, his sceptre, his robes, and other ensigns of royalty? So the Targum,"woe, or alas, for the king; alas, for his kingdom;''a heavy stroke, a sorrowful melancholy providence this! but nothing of this kind should be said; as he lived not beloved, because of his oppression and violence, so he died without any lamentation for him. Jeremiah 22:19Ver. 19. He shall be buried with the burial of an ass,.... Have no burial at all, or no other than what any brute creature has; which, when it dies, is cast into a ditch, and becomes the food of dogs, and the fowls of the air. The "ass" is mentioned, as being a sordid stupid creature; and such an one was this king;drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem; as the carcass of a beast is dragged about by dogs; or as a malefactor, when executed, is dragged and cast into a ditch: this perhaps was done by the Chaldeans, who, when he was slain, dragged him along, and cast him beyond the gates of Jerusalem. So Josephus {w} says, that when Nebuchadnezzar entered Jerusalem, he slew the most robust and beautiful with Jehoiakim their king, and ordered him to be cast without the walls unburied; and so, though he is said to "sleep with his fathers", yet not to be buried with them, 2Ki 24:6. Kimchi says that he died without Jerusalem, as they were carrying him into captivity a second time; and the Chaldeans would not suffer him to be buried. Jerom reports, from the Hebrew history, that he was killed by the robbers and thieves of the Chaldeans, Syrians, Ammonites, and Moabites. Some think, that as he was bound in chains, in order to be carried to Babylon, that he was had there, and there died, and after his death used in this ignominious manner: and the words will bear to be rendered, "cast forth far beyond the gates of Jerusalem" {x}; even as far as Babylon; see 2Ch 36:6.{w} Antiqu. l. 10. c. 6. sect. 3. {x} Mlvwry yrevl halhm Klvhw "et projiciendo procul ultra portas Hierosolymae", Schmidt. So Grotius and Gataker. Jeremiah 22:20Ver. 20. Go up to Lebanon, and cry,.... These words are directed to Jerusalem and its inhabitants, and to the people of the Jews; not to go up to the temple, as the Targum interprets it, so called, because made of the wood of Lebanon, as in Zec 11:1; or, as the Rabbins say, because it made white the sins of Israel; but the mountain of Lebanon, and from thence call to their neighbours for help in their present distress, as the Assyrians and Egyptians;and lift up thy voice in Bashan; another high hill in the land of Israel. The Targum interprets this also of the gates of the mountain of the house; so called, as Jarchi thinks, because made of the oaks of Bashan; or, as Kimchi, because there were beasts continually there for sacrifice, as in Bashan, a pasture for cattle; but the mountain itself is intended;and cry from the passages; or "from Abarim"; a mountain of this name on the borders of Moab, Nu 27:12. Now these several high mountains are named, because from hence they might look around them, and call to their neighbours, if any of them could help them: it is ironically spoken, for it is suggested that none of them could:for all thy lovers are destroyed; their friends and allies, with whom they had not only entered into leagues, but had committed spiritual fornication with them; that is, idolatry, as the Egyptians and Assyrians; but these were now subdued by Nebuchadnezzar, and were at least so weakened and destroyed by him, that they could give no assistance to the Jews; see 2Ki 24:7. Jeremiah 22:21Ver. 21. I spake unto thee in thy prosperity,.... Or "prosperities", or "tranquillities" {y}; when in their greatest affluence, in the height of it; this he did, when he sent to them his servants the prophets, as the Targum, and by them exhorted, reproved, and advised them:[but] thou saidst, I will not hear; this was the language of their hearts and actions, though not of their mouths:this [hath been] thy manner from thy youth; from the time they came out of Egypt, and first became a church and body politic; while they were in the wilderness; or when first settled in the land of Canaan: this was the infancy of their state; and from that time it was their manner and custom to reject the word of the Lord, and turn a deaf ear to it:that thou obeyest not my voice; in his law, and by his prophets.{y} Kytwlvb "in tranquillitatibus fuis", Vatablus, Cocceius, Schmidt; "felicitatibus tuis", Pagninus; "securitatibus tuis", Montanus. Jeremiah 22:22Ver. 22. The wind shall eat up all thy pastors,.... King, nobles, counsellors, priests, prophets, and elders of the people; they shall be carried away as chaff before the wind, or perish as trees and fruits are blasted with an east wind; to which Nebuchadnezzar and his army are sometimes compared; see Jer 18:17. The Targum is,"all thy governors shall be scattered to every wind;''and thy lovers shall go into captivity: the Assyrians and Egyptians, as before; see Jer 52:31;surely then thou shalt be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness; being disappointed of all protection from their governors at home, and of all help from their allies abroad; and will then, when too late, be convinced of all their wickedness, and ashamed of it. Jeremiah 22:23Ver. 23. O inhabitant of Lebanon,.... Jerusalem is meant, and the inhabitants of it, so called, because they lived near Lebanon, or in that land in which Lebanon was; or rather because they dwelt in houses made of the wood of Lebanon; and which stood as thick as the trees in the forest of Lebanon; and where they thought themselves safe and secure, according to the next clause; not but that there were inhabitants of the mountain of Lebanon, called Druses; and there were towns and villages on it, inhabited by people, as there are to this day. After four hours and a half travelling up the ascent, from the foot of the mountain, there is, as travellers {z} inform us, a small pretty village, called Eden; and besides that, at some distance from it, another called Canobine, where there is a convent of the Maronites, and is the seat of their patriarch; and near it a valley of that name, full of hermitages, cells and monasteries; but the former are here meant;that makest thy nests in the cedars; in towns, palaces, and houses, covered, ceiled, raftered, and wainscotted with cedars; here they lived at ease and security, as birds in a nest. The Targum is,"who dwellest in the house of the sanctuary, and among kings? nourishing thy children;''how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail? that is, either thou wilt seek grace and favour at the hand of God, and make supplication to him; thou wilt then be an humble supplicant, when in distress, though now proud and haughty {a}: or what favour wilt thou then find among those that come to waste and destroy thee? This refers to the calamity coming upon them by the Chaldeans, as the following words show:{z} Maundrell's Journey from Aleppo, &c. p. 142, 143. Thevenot's Travels, part 1. B. 2. c. 60. p. 221. {a} ytnxn hm "quam gratiam habuisti, [vel] quomodo precata es", Vatablus; "quam afficieris gratia", Piscator; "quantum gratiae invenies", Schmidt. Jeremiah 22:24Ver. 24. [As] I live, saith the Lord,.... The form of an oath, used to express the greater certainty of what is after delivered: swearing by his life is swearing by himself; see Heb 6:13;though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah; the same with Jeconiah, so nicknamed by way of contempt; and it may be to denote the diminution of his glory and kingdom, and the shortness of his reign:were the signet upon my right hand; ever so near to him, or ever so much valued by him, as he had been before, and so constantly cared for and regarded by him; as a ring, with anything respectable engraved on it, is constantly wore by persons, and greatly valued; especially such as had on them the image or picture of a person loved, as was usual in some countries, to which the allusion is by some thought to be: so the friends of Epicurus used to have his image engraved upon their rings, which they wore on their fingers in respect to him, and as an omen of good to themselves {b}; see So 8:6;yet would I pluck thee thence: with great displeasure and indignation: it designs being removed from his throne and kingdom, and out of his native land, and carried into a far country, as follows.{b} Vid. Alexand. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 2. c. 19. Jeremiah 22:25Ver. 25. And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life,.... Cruel and bloodthirsty enemies, whom nothing would satisfy but his life; such were the persons following:and into the hand [of them] whose face thou fearest: being a terrible savage people, to be dreaded both for their number and their cruelty; a strange change this, to be removed out of the hand of God into the hand of such an enemy;even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon;See Gill on "Jer 21:2";and into the hand of the Chaldeans: who were the merciless and formidable people before mentioned: and this was fulfilled within three months after Jeconiah or Jehoiachin began to reign, and when he was but eighteen years of age, 2Ki 24:8. Jeremiah 22:26Ver. 26. And I will cast thee out,.... Out of his palace, out of the city of Jerusalem, and out of the land of Judea:and thy mother that bare thee; who very probably was a bad woman, and had brought up her son in an evil way, and had led him on and encouraged him in it, by her own example, and had been a partner with him in his sins: her name was Nehushta, a daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem; and as it was here predicted of her, so it was accomplished, 2Ki 24:8; it is very likely Jeconiah had no children before the captivity, since no mention is made of them, only of his mother that was cast out with him:into another country, where ye were not born; the land of Chaldea, which was not the native place neither of him nor his mother; being both, as it seems probable, horn in Jerusalem, or however in Judea:and there shall ye die; both he and his mother; and so the Arabic version expresses it, "and there shall ye both die"; as no doubt they did, though we have no particular account of their death; as for Jeconiah, he lived a long time in captivity; it was in the "thirty seventh" year of his captivity that Evilmerodach king of Babylon showed favour to him above all the captive kings that were with him, and continued it to his death; but how long after that was is not known; see Jer 52:31. Jeremiah 22:27Ver. 27. But to the land whereunto they desire to return,.... Or, "lift up their soul to return" {c}: either by making supplication to God, for it, Ps 25:1; or buoying up themselves with vain hopes, founded upon the declarations of the false prophets, that they should return; and to which no doubt they had a natural desire, and comforted themselves with the hopes of it; but all in vain:thither shall they not return; for they were to die, as before predicted, in another country, as they did, and never saw their own any more.{c} Mv bwvl Mvpn ta Myavnm "elevant animam suam", Vatablus, Pagninus; "tollunt animam suam ut revertantlur eo", Schmidt. Jeremiah 22:28Ver. 28. [Is] this man Coniah a despised broken idol?.... Or like an idol that is nothing in the world, and like a broken one, that, whatever worship before was paid to it, has now none at all, but is despised by its votaries? he is such an one; though he was idolized by his people when be first came to the throne; but now his power and government being broken, and he carried captive, was despised by all; as his being called Coniah, and "this man" or fellow, show; which are used of him in a way of reproach and contempt;[is he] a vessel wherein [is] no pleasure? he is. He is like a vessel made for dishonour, or is used for the most contemptible service; or like one that is cracked, or broken, or defiled, that no use can be made of it, or any delight taken in it; it is not fit to set up, to be looked at, or to be made use of;wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed; which were in his loins, and were begotten by him in captivity; see 1Ch 3:17; and so said to be cast out with him, when he was cast out of the land of Judea; just as Levi paid tithes in Abraham before he was born, Heb 7:9;and are cast into a land which they know not? where they had no friends and acquaintance; doubtless it was for his sins and transgressions, and those of his people. Jeremiah 22:29Ver. 29. O earth, earth, earth,.... Not Coniah himself, an earthly man; but either the inhabitants of the whole earth, or of the land of Israel; or rather the earth, on which men dwell, is here called upon as a witness to what is after said; to rebuke the stupidity of the people, and to quicken their attention to somewhat very remarkable and worthy of notice, and therefore the word is repeated three times. Some think reference is had to the land from which, and that to which, the Jews removed, and the land of Israel, through which they passed. So the Targum,"out of his own land they carried him captive into another land; O land of Israel, receive the words of the Lord.''Jarchi mentions another reason of this threefold appellation, because the land of Israel was divided into three parts, Judea, beyond Jordan, and Galilee;hear the word of the Lord; which follows. Jeremiah 22:30Ver. 30. Thus saith the Lord, write ye this man childless,.... That is, Coniah, or Jeconiah; who though he had children in the captivity, yet they died in it, or however never succeeded him in the throne. This, to show the certainty of the thing, the Lord would have written. The speech is directed, as some think, to the angels, or to the prophets; though the words may be rendered impersonally, "let this man be written childless", it may be set down, and taken for a sure and certain thing, as though it was written with a pen of iron, that he shall be alone, and die without children, and have none to reign after him;a man [that] shall not prosper in his days; he sat but three months and ten days upon the throne, and all the rest of his days he lived in captivity, 2Ch 36:9; so that he was a very unfortunate prince;for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting on the throne of David,and ruling any more in Judah; none of them were so prosperous and happy as to arrive to the royal dignity, or to sit on the throne of David, and be kings of Judah. Here ended the race of kings of the house of David, until the King Messiah came; for though there were of his line that were governors of Judah, as Zerubbabel, yet not kings. Moreover, Jeconiah was the last of the house of David in the line of Solomon. Salathiel, of whom was Zerubbabel governor of Judah, was the son of Neri, who descended from Nathan the son of David; see Lu 3:29, compared with Mt 1:12; andSee Gill on "Lu 3:29" andSee Gill on "Lu 3:31" andSee Gill on "Mt 1:12".
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.