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…

Thus saith the Lord, go down to the house of the king of Judah To the palace of Jehoiakim, who was now the reigning king; the prophet is bid to go down to it, because, as Kimchi thinks, he was now upon the mountain of the house, or in the temple, from whence to the king’s house there was a descent:…

And say, hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah O Jehoiakim king of Judah, hear the word of the King of kings; listen to it, and obey it, as kings ought to do; and it is for their good, as well as it is their duty, so to do: that sittest upon the throne of David; whom he mentions, to put him in…

Thus saith the Lord, execute ye judgment and righteousness, &c.] Judge righteous Judgment; give the cause to whom it belongs, without respect of persons, and without a bribe or corruption; do no unrighteousness to any, by withholding from them what is due unto them, which was what this prince was…

For if ye do this thing indeed Or, “in doing do this word” [[23]]; diligently and carefully attend to this word of exhortation, and constantly perform the duties required: then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David; or, upon the throne for David: in…

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, ; and as, when he swears to a promise, it shows the immutability of it, the certainty of…

For thus saith the Lord unto the king’s house of Judah That is, to the family of the king of Judah; though it may be rendered, “concerning the house of the king of Judah” [[24]]; and so refer to his palace as before: thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon; or, though like to Gilead (which…

And I will prepare destroyers against thee The Chaldeans, men of savage dispositions, bent upon the destruction of their neighbours; and who had already destroyed many nations, and so fit instruments for such service, as after mentioned; and who yet did not come merely of themselves, but were moved…

And many nations shall pass by this city After it is burned down and destroyed; that is, people out of many nations travelling that way: and they shall say every man to his neighbour; as in company together, passing along the ruined walls of the city: wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this…

Then they shall answer Or, “it shall be answered” [[4]]; by some in company, acquainted with the history of this people: because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God; the Lord was the God of these people; he chose them for his peculiar people, and distinguished them by his favours…

Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him Not Jehoiakim, as Jarchi and Kimchi; but King Josiah, slain by Pharaohnecho; who, being a pious prince, a good king, and very useful, and much beloved by his people, great lamentation was made for him by them, and by the prophet also; but now he exhorts…

For thus saith the Lord touching Shallum Not Shallum the fourth son of Josiah, ; for it is not likely that he should immediately succeed his father; nor Zedekiah, as Jarchi; nor Jeconiah, as Kimchi; but Jehoahaz, as Aben Ezra; who seems to have had several names, as Johanan, ; and Shallum here: the…

But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive Even in Egypt, where Pharaohnecho and his army carried him captive, as before observed: and he shall see his land no more; the land of Judah, where he was born, and over which he had been king: this is repeated to show the certainty of…

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…

That saith, I will build me a wide house Or, “a house of measures”, or, “dimensions” [[8]]; 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”,…

Shalt thou reign because thou closest thyself in cedar? &c.] 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…

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…

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…

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, ; the son of…

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.

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 ; or, as the Rabbins say, because it made white the sins of Israel; but…

I spake unto thee in thy prosperity Or “prosperities”, or “tranquillities” [[23]]; 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;…

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 .

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…

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 ; 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…

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…

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…

But to the land whereunto they desire to return Or, “lift up their soul to return” [[2]]: either by making supplication to God, for it, ; 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…

Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? &c.] 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…

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…

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.