Jeremiah 22

Jeremiah · Chapter 22

Jeremiah 22:13

1Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,2And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:3Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.4For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.5But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.6For 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.7And 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.8And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this great city?9Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.10Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.11For thus saith the LORD touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more:12But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.13Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;14That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion.15Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him?16He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD.17But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.18Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!19He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.20Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed.21I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice.22The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.23O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!24As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;25And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.26And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die.27But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return.28Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?29O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.30Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
13Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms without justice, who makes his countrymen serve without pay, and fails to pay their wages,Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by injustice; that useth his neighbor’s service without wages, and giveth him not his hire;

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
woe to!ה֣וֹיHoH1945
woe!

הוֹי (hoy) ah!, alas!, ha!, ho!, O!, woe!

[one who] buildsבֹּנֶ֤הbo-NEHH1129
to build

בְּנָה (be.nah) 1) to build 1a) (P'al) to build 1b) (Ithp'il) to be built

house hisבֵיתוֹ֙vei-TOH1004B
to lodge

בִּית (but) (P'al) to pass the night, lodge Aramaic of ba.yit (בַּ֫יִת ": home" H1004B)

with notבְּֽלֹא־be-lo'-H3808
not

לֹא (lo) 1) not, no 1a) not (with verb-absolute prohibition) 1b) not (with modifier-negation) 1c) nothing (subst) 1d) without (with particle) 1e) before (of time) Aramaic equivalent: la (לָא "not" H3809)

righteousnessצֶ֔דֶקTZE-dekH6664G
righteousness

צֶ֫דֶק (tse.deq) 1) justice, rightness, righteousness 1a) what is right or just or normal, rightness, justness (of weights and measures) 1b) righteousness (in government) 1b1) of judges, rulers, kings 1b2) of law 1b3) of Davidic king, Messiah 1b4) of Jerusalem as seat of just government 1b5) of God's attribute 1c) righteousness, justice (in case or cause) 1d) rightness (in speech) 1e) righteousness (as ethically right) 1f) righteousness (as vindicated), justification (in controversy), deliverance, victory, prosperity 1f1) of God as covenant-keeping in redemption 1f2) in name of Messianic king …

and upper rooms hisוַעֲלִיּוֹתָ֖יוva-'a-li-yo-TAVH5944
upper room

עֲלִיָּה (a.liy.yah) roof-room, roof chamber

with notבְּלֹ֣אbe-LO'H3808
not

לֹא (lo) 1) not, no 1a) not (with verb-absolute prohibition) 1b) not (with modifier-negation) 1c) nothing (subst) 1d) without (with particle) 1e) before (of time) Aramaic equivalent: la (לָא "not" H3809)

justiceמִשְׁפָּ֑טmish-PATH4941H
justice: judgement

מִשְׁפָּט (mish.pat) : judgement/punishment 1) judgment, justice, ordinance 1a) judgment 1a1) act of deciding a case 1a2) place, court, seat of judgment 1a3) process, procedure, litigation (before judges) 1a4) case, cause (presented for judgment) 1a5) sentence, decision (of judgment) 1a6) execution (of judgment) 1a7) time (of judgment) 1b) justice, right, rectitude (attributes of God or man) 1c) ordinance 1d) decision (in law) 1e) right, privilege, due (legal) 1f) proper, fitting, measure, fitness, custom, manner, plan

by fellow-citizen hisבְּרֵעֵ֙הוּ֙be-re-'E-huH7453
neighbor

רֵעַ (re.a) 1) friend, companion, fellow, another person 1a) friend, intimate 1b) fellow, fellow-citizen, another person (weaker sense) 1c) other, another (reciprocal phrase)

he worksיַעֲבֹ֣דya-'a-VODH5647G
to serve

עָבַד (a.vad) : serve[someone] 1) to work, serve 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to labour, work, do work 1a2) to work for another, serve another by labour 1a3) to serve as subjects 1a4) to serve (God) 1a5) to serve (with Levitical service) 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be worked, be tilled (of land) 1b2) to make oneself a servant 1c) (Pual) to be worked 1d) (Hiphil) 1d1) to compel to labour or work, cause to labour, cause to serve 1d2) to cause to serve as subjects 1e) (Hophal) to be led or enticed to serve

without payingחִנָּ֔םchi-NAMH2600
for nothing

חִנָּם (chin.nam) 1) freely, for nothing, without cause 1a) gratis, gratuitously, for nothing 1b) for no purpose, in vain 1c) gratuitously, without cause, undeservedly

and wage[s] hisוּפֹעֲל֖וֹu-fo-'a-LOH6467
work

פֹּ֫עַל (po.al) 1) work, deed, doing 1a) deed, thing done 1b) work, thing made 1c) wages of work 1d) acquisition (of treasure)

notלֹ֥אlo'H3808
not

לֹא (lo) 1) not, no 1a) not (with verb-absolute prohibition) 1b) not (with modifier-negation) 1c) nothing (subst) 1d) without (with particle) 1e) before (of time) Aramaic equivalent: la (לָא "not" H3809)

he givesיִתֶּן־yi-ten-H5414N
to give: give

נָתַן (na.tan) : give/deliver/send/produce 1) to give, put, set 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to give, bestow, grant, permit, ascribe, employ, devote, consecrate, dedicate, pay wages, sell, exchange, lend, commit, entrust, give over, deliver up, yield produce, occasion, produce, requite to, report, mention, utter, stretch out, extend 1a2) to put, set, put on, put upon, set, appoint, assign, designate 1a3) to make, constitute 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be given, be bestowed, be provided, be entrusted to, be granted to, be permitted, be issued, be published, be uttered, be assigned 1b2) to be set, be put, be made, be inflicted …

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.