Part 318

21:13. Behold I come to thee that dwellest in a valley upon a rock above a plain, saith the Lord: and you say: Who shall strike us and who shall enter into our houses?

To thee that dwellest, etc. . .He speaks to Jerusalem, confiding in the strength of her situation upon rocks, surrounded with a deep valley.

21:14. But I will visit upon you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the Lord: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof: and it shall devour all things round about it.

Jeremias Chapter 22

An exhortation both to king and people to return of God. The sentence of God upon Joachaz, Joakim, and Jechonias.

22:1. Thus saith the Lord: Go down to the house of the king of Juda, and there thou shalt speak this word,

Go down, etc. . .The contents of this chapter are of a more ancient date than those of the foregoing chapter: for the order of time is not always observed in the writings of the prophets.

22:2. And thou shalt say: Hear the word of the Lord, king of Juda, that sittest upon the throne of David: thou and thy servants, and thy people, who enter in by these gates.

22:3. Thus saith the Lord: Execute judgment and justice, and deliver him that is oppressed out of the hand of the oppressor: and afflict not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, nor oppress them unjustly: and shed not innocent blood in this place.

22:4. For if you will do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house, kings of the race of David sitting upon his throne, and riding in chariots and on horses, they and their servants, and their people.

22:5. But if you will not hearken to these words: I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.

22:6. For thus saith the Lord to the house of the king of Juda: Thou art to me Galaad the head of Libanus: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities not habitable.

Galaad the head of Libanus. . .By Galaad, a rich and fruitful country, is here signified the royal palace of the kings of the house of David: by Libanus, a high mountain abounding in cedar trees, the populous city of Jerusalem.

22:7. And I will prepare against thee the destroyer and his weapons: and they shall cut down thy chosen cedars, and shall cast them headlong into the fire.

Prepare. . .Literally, sanctify.

22:8. And many nations shall pass by this city: and they shall say every man to his neighbour: Why hath the Lord done so to this great city?

22:9. And they shall answer: Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and have adored strange gods, and served them.

22:10. Weep not for him that is dead, nor bemoan him with your tears: lament him that goeth away, for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.

Weep not for him that is dead, etc. . .He means the good king Josias, who by death was taken away, so as not to see the miseries of his country.--Ibid. Him that goeth away. . .Viz., sellum, alias Joachaz, who was carried captive into Egypt.

22:11. For thus saith the Lord to Sellum the son of Josias the king of Juda, who reigned instead of his father, who went forth out of this place: He shall return hither no more:

22:12. But in the place, to which I have removed him, there shall he die, and he shall not see this land any more.

22:13. Woe to him that buildeth up his house by injustice, and his chambers not in judgment: that will oppress his friend without cause, and will not pay him his wages.

22:14. Who saith: I will build me a wide house, and large chambers: who openeth to himself windows, and maketh roofs of cedar, and painteth them with vermilion.

22:15. Shalt thou reign, because thou comparest thyself to the cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and it was then well with him?

22:16. He judged the cause of the poor and needy for his own good: was it not therefore because he knew me, saith the Lord?

22:17. But thy eyes and thy heart are set upon covetousness, and upon shedding innocent blood, and upon oppression, and running after evil works.

22:18. Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning Joakim the son of Josias king of Juda: They shall not mourn for him, Alas, my brother, and, Alas, sister: they shall not lament for him, Alas, my lord, or, Alas, the noble one.

22:19. He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, rotten and cast forth without the gates of Jerusalem.