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1–9. Introduction and speeches addressed to the kings of Judah. 10–12. A Word about Jehoahaz-Shallum. 13–19. About Joachim. 20–30. About Jeconiah. Jeremiah 22:1–9. The prophet addresses the king of Judah and his servants, and all the people with an exhortation to carry out justice with righteousness. If this is not observed, then the Lord will severely punish both the king and all his subjects, who especially deserved the wrath of God by their worship of foreign gods. Jer.22:1. Thus said the Lord: Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak this word The royal palace obviously stood on the southern slope of the church mountain, and therefore they did not ascend from the church to the palace, but descended and descended. Jeremiah was probably in the church at that time. Jer.22:2. and say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people who enter through this gate. "Your people". These, of course, were not all Jews, but people who stood close to the king, of whom there were many. Jer.22:4. For if you do this word, then kings will enter through the gates of this house, sitting in David’s place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, themselves and their servants and their people. Jer.22:5. And if you do not listen to these words, then I swear by Me, says the Lord, that this house will become empty. "House", i.e. the royal palace. Jer.22:6. For thus says the Lord to the house of the king of Judah: Gilead art thou with me, the top of Lebanon; but I will make you desolate and cities uninhabited The prophet calls the royal palace, built from the best cedar trees and oaks, “the top of Lebanon”, where mighty cedars grew, and “Gilead” - a country on the mountains of which strong oaks rose (cf. 2 Kings 7.2, 7; 1 Kings 7.2-5). - “I will make you...” Having mentioned Gilead, the prophet immediately recalls the desolation in which this area, previously densely populated by the Amorites, was already at that time. And now even in eastern Palestine the ruins of ancient cities can be seen, but under Jeremiah there were even more of these ruins. Jeremiah 22:10–12. King Sallum faces a miserable death in captivity, where his enemies are taking him, and for him the prophet invites the Jews to shed tears. Jer.22:11. Do not cry for the deceased and do not feel sorry for him; but weep bitterly for the one who goes into captivity, for he will never return and will never see his native country. “The one who died” is King Josiah, for whom the Jews wept a lot (2 Chronicles 35.25). - “He who goes into captivity” is, as can be seen from the next verse, Shallum, the son of Josiah. Who is this Sallum? Based on 2 Kings 23.30 et seq. and 2 Chron 36.1–2; we can say with confidence that the prophet here meant Jehoahaz, the successor of Josiah. He bore the name Sallum probably before his accession to the throne. Jehoahaz-Sallum reigned only for three months and was taken into captivity by Pharaoh. The Egyptians put Joachim in his place, and this, of course, should have greatly irritated the Babylonian king, for whom the pharaoh and all the pharaoh’s henchmen were hated to the extreme. Thus, mourning the taking of Jehoahaz into captivity, the Jews will together mourn their own pitiful fate ahead of them, which the king of Babylon is already preparing for them. Jeremiah 22:13–19. King Joachim, for his oppression of his subjects, for his greed, which led him to shed innocent blood, will be deprived of even an honorable burial. Jer.22:13. Woe to him who builds his house in wickedness and his chambers in iniquity, who makes his neighbor work for nothing and does not give him his wages, Joachim's financial situation was very tight (2 Kings 23.35), but nevertheless he loved to produce magnificent buildings: in particular, he decorated the upper rooms, that is, the upper rooms of the palace, where the kings usually spent all the time of the day. In this case, he was obviously carried away by the example of the Babylonian king (cf. Hab 2.9 et seq.). Jer.22:14. who says, “I will build myself a large house and spacious chambers,” and he cuts out windows for himself, and panels them with cedar, and paints them with red paint. “Cuts through... a window,” that is, makes especially wide windows, which was not cheap, since the window bars were decorated with expensive carvings. - “Sheathed with cedar.” For beauty, the ceiling was sheathed with cedar and painted with red paint - in Egyptian fashion. Jer.22:15. Do you think you will be a king because you have imprisoned yourself in a cedar tree? your father ate and drank, but executed justice and righteousness, and therefore it was good for him. Joachim believes it is necessary to build as many expensive buildings as possible to exalt the royal power. Meanwhile, the strength of royal power does not lie at all in that. But in any case, it is better to moderate your personal expenses, as Joachim’s father, Josiah, did, and therefore enjoyed the love of his subjects. Jer.22:16. He dealt with the case of the poor and the needy, and therefore it was good for him. Is this not what it means to know Me? says the Lord. The most necessary thing for the ruler of the kingdom of Judah is to know Jehovah as the supreme King of the Jewish people. But the king who cares for the poor and orphans knows Jehovah as he should. Jer.22:18. Therefore, this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah: they will not mourn him: “Alas, my brother!” and: “alas, sister!” They will not mourn him: “alas, sir!” and: “alas, his greatness!” “Alas, brother! alas, sister!” - these are cries of grief on the occasion of the death of ordinary citizens. “Alas, sir! alas, his greatness!” - these are cries when mourning the king. Jer.22:19. He will be buried with a donkey's burial; they will drag him out and throw him far beyond the gates of Jerusalem. Joachim's corpse will be dragged away like a dead donkey, without any respect, when he dies. Although 2 Kings 24.6 says nothing about the violent death or dishonorable burial of Joachim, this place does not exclude the possibility of this, because the same phrase is used by the writer of the 4th book. Kings was used about the death of Joachim, used earlier about the burial of Ahab (1 Kings 22.40). Meanwhile, it is known about this latter that dogs licked the blood flowing from his wound (1 Kings 22.38). Therefore, the remark of 2 Kings 24.6 cannot contradict the passage in question in the book of Jeremiah. Joachim, indeed, was buried in the grave of his fathers - in Zion, but during popular unrest his corpse could be removed by the Jews who did not love him and subjected to shame. Jeremiah 22:20–30. The Jewish people will soon have to bitterly mourn the death of all in whom they hoped. First of all, the prophet points out that the king of Judah, Jehoiachin, has already been taken by Nebuchadnezzar and taken to a foreign land, from where he will never return. None of his descendants will reign in Judea again. Jer.22:20. Go up to Lebanon and shout, and on Bashan lift up your voice and shout from Abarim, for all your friends are crushed. The Prophet here addresses the daughter of Zion, Judah, who betrayed God (Jer. 4.31, 3.11), as can be seen from the fact that the predicates here are placed in the feminine gender (according to the Hebrew text). - Lebanon, the Bashan mountains - very high in places - and the Abarim mountains, to which Mount Nebo, where Moses died, belongs - are mentioned here as the most elevated points from which you can see all of Palestine and even neighboring lands. Having seen that “all friends,” that is, the participants of the Jews in the conspiracy against the Babylonian king, have been defeated, Judah can only bitterly mourn its inevitable sad fate. Jer.22:22. All your shepherds will be carried away by the wind, and your friends will go into captivity; and then you will be ashamed and disgraced for all your atrocities. The winds in Palestine are sometimes so strong that they lift people into the air. – “Shepherds” are the rulers of the people. Jer.22:23. Living in Lebanon, nesting in cedar trees! how pitiful you will be when torment befalls you, like the pain of a woman in childbirth! Having built themselves cedar palaces, the king and those around him considered themselves as safe as those living on the high Lebanese mountains. – “Living” – more correctly: living. We are talking again about the daughter of Zion. Jer.22:24. As I live, said the Lord, If Jehoiachin the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, had a ring on My right hand, then from here I will pluck you Kings and rich people never removed the ring from their fingers, because it served as a sign of power and because it replaced the seal with which various important documents were sealed. Jer.22:25. And I will deliver you into the hands of those who seek your life, and into the hands of those whom you fear, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hands of the Chaldeans, For the fulfillment of the entire prophecy about Jehoiachin, see 2 Kings 24:12, 15, 25:27–30; Jer 52.31 et seq. Jer.22:28. “Is this man, Jehoiachin, a despicable, rejected creature? or is he an indecent vessel? Why were they thrown out - he and his tribe, and thrown into a country they did not know? Jeconiah has already been taken into captivity. Did this really happen? Jer.22:29. Oh, earth, earth, earth! listen to the word of the Lord. The threefold appeal to the land, that is, to the people, increases the attention of the listeners. Jeremiah 22:30. Thus says the Lord: write down this man as childless, an unfortunate man in his days, because no one from his tribe will sit on the throne of David and rule in Judea. The Prophet surprised those asking in the 28th Art. answers that Jeconiah was not only taken into captivity, but also forever deprived of the opportunity to enroll his children in the lists of the people. But Jehoiachin had children - what did the prophet want to say in the verse in question? Those who could receive an inheritance plot in the Promised Land were included in the lists (Isaiah 4.3). Now for the descendants of Jehoiachin, their inheritance is the throne of the kingdom of Judah. But they will never occupy it again. Following, Jeconiah can be recorded in the lists of the people as having no children-heirs: they will have nothing to inherit. Special note. Art. 1–9 were probably said at the very beginning of the reign of Joachim, when this king had already discovered his bad inclinations. 10–19 art. clearly date back to the time of Joachim, when the Jews were still mourning Shallum-Joahaz, whose return some could still hope for, vv. 20–30. date back to the time when Jeconiah was taken captive. You might be interested in: