Jeremiah
Chapter 22
To the King
The Lord said to me, “Go to the palace of the king of Judah and deliver this message:
Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah who sits on the throne of David. To you, your servants, and everyone entering through these gates,
the Lord says: Practice justice and do good. Free the oppressed from their oppressor. Harm not the foreigners, the orphans and the widows; do them no violence, and let no innocent blood be spilled in this place.
If you do this, kings succeeding King David will enter these gates, riding on their chariots and horses with their servants and their people.
But if you do not listen to these words, then I swear by myself, the Lord declares, this place will become a ruin.”
For this is what the Lord says about the royal house of Judah: For me, you are like Gilead, like a peak of Lebanon! And yet I will transform you into a desert, a city where no one lives.
I will prepare destroyers to attack you, each with an ax in his hand. They will cut down your choice cedars and throw them into the fire.
Pagans without a number will pass by this city and say to one another: “Why has the Lord dealt with this great city in such a way?”
And they will answer: “Because they broke their Covenant with the Lord, their God, and worshiped and served other gods!”
To Jehoahaz-Salum
Weep not for the one who is dead! grieve not for him. Mourn rather for him who is in exile, for he will never return to see his homeland again!
For this is what the Lord has said about King Josiah’s son, Shallum, who succeeded his father as king of Judah:
“He will never return, For he will die in the place to which he has been deported and will never see this land again.
To Jehoiachin
Damned is the one who builds his house with stolen goods and expands it through injustice; he who forces his fellowman to work without pay and refuses to give him his wages!
So you build a beautiful palace for yourself with spacious upper rooms! So you install large windows, paneled with cedar wood and painted vermillion.
Does gathering cedar make you more of a king? Was not your father a just man? He ate and drank to his satisfaction, but he acted justly, and everything went well for him.
He defended the cause Of the poor and needy: this is what it means to know the Lord.
But your eyes and heart are set on selfish gain, on shedding innocent blood, and on oppressive violence.
Therefore, this is what the Lord says regarding Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah: No one will mourn for him, saying: Alas, my brother! Alas, O sister! No one will mourn for him, saying: Alas, my lord! Alas, your majesty!
He will be given the burial of a donkey, dragged away, and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
To Jerusalem
Go up to Lebanon and cry out; weep from the heights of Bashan cry out from Abarim, For all your lovers have been crushed.
I spoke to you in more fortunate days, but you said: ‘I will not listen.’ You have been like that since your youth, paying no attention to my words.
All your shepherds Will be scattered by the wind and your lovers will be taken captive; then you will be covered with shame because of your evil deeds.
You who call your house: ‘Lebanon’ and made your nest of cedar wood, how you will groan when sorrow comes like the birth pangs of a woman in labor!
To Jeconiah
By my life—says the Lord— Even if Jeconiah, Jehoiakim’s son, king of Judah, were the signet ring on my right hand, I would tear him off!
I will hand you over to those who seek your life, to the Chaldeans you fear.
Then I will throw you, and the mother who bore you, into a foreign land where you were not born. There you shall die,
for to the land you long for, you will never return.”
Is this Jeconiah a broken and useless vessel that no one wants? Why have he and his family been expelled to a land they do not know?
Land, land, land! Hear what the Lord says.
These are his words: “List this man as childless!” None of his descendants will succeed; not one will be fortunate enough to sit on David’s throne and rule again over Judah.
Commentaries
To the King.
The House of David was tasked with guarding the Covenant and guiding the people in obeying God’s Law. Kingship is not an unbreakable or unconditional position (4-5). The oppression of the most vulnerable and helpless, in contrast to the wealth and luxury of the kings who build their palaces and decorate them with wood from Gilead and Lebanon (6), clearly shows the breaking of the covenant (cf. 13-16).
To Jehoahaz-Salum.
Josiah, who was killed by the Egyptians in 609 B.C., was succeeded by his son Salum (1 Chr 3:15), also called Jehoahaz. Salum was deposed by Pharaoh Necho and taken prisoner to Egypt after ruling for only three months.
To Jehoiachin.
The Lord pronounces a severe judgment against Jehoiachin, son of Josiah. Once again, He emphasizes the injustice faced by those who built his luxurious palace, previously referenced with the metaphor of Gilead and Lebanon (6). The ironic tone shows God’s anger and the foolishness of this king.
To Jerusalem.
The unfaithful city is likened to an adulterous woman who is caught “in the act” (cf. Ezk 16). Her lovers are foreign peoples, political and military allies with their gods (cf. Hos 2:7-15). This lament will be proclaimed in distant regions such as Lebanon and Bashan, in Transjordan and Abarim, east of the Dead Sea. Lebanon and its cedars, a comfortable and safe place, will witness the suffering of the people (23).
To Jeconiah.
King Jeconiah, also known as Jehoiachin, was taken prisoner and brought to Babylon after surrendering to Nebuchadnezzar. He was accompanied by other key members of his court and by those from Jerusalem. These words were fulfilled: no descendant of Jehoiachin sat on David’s throne; only Zerubbabel, his grandson, held a high Persian position upon returning from Babylon around 534 B.C.