Chapter 22
Threats against Judah’s rulers
Lecture 1
Injunctions to the king of Judah
22:1 Thus says the Lord : go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there you shall speak this word,
22:2 and say: hear the word of the Lord , O king of Judah, who sits upon the throne of David, you and your servants, and your people, who enter through these gates.
22:3 Thus says the Lord : execute judgment and justice, and free the one oppressed by violence from the hand of the oppressor: do not afflict the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, and do not oppress them unjustly; do not shed innocent blood in this place.
22:4 For if you shall surely do this word, kings of the line of David sitting upon his throne shall enter through the gates of this house, and riding on chariots and horse, they and their servants and their people.
22:5 But if you will not hearken to these words, by myself I swear, says the Lord , that this house shall be a waste.
22:6 For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah: Gilead are you to me, the head of Lebanon, yet surely I will make you a waste, cities in which none may dwell.
22:7 And I will sanctify against you the killing man and his arms; and he shall hew down your choice cedars, and cast them headlong into the fire.
22:8 And many nations shall pass by this city, and each one shall say to his fellow, ‘Why has the Lord done so to this great city?’
22:9 And they will respond, ‘Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshiped strange gods, and served them.’
22:10 Do not cry for the dead, nor weep for him with tears; mourn for him who goes forth, for he will not return again, nor will he see the land of his birth.
22:11 For thus says the Lord to Shallum, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, who reigned in the place of Josiah his father, who went forth from this place, and shall not come here again,
22:12 but in the place to which I have taken him, there shall he die, and he shall see this land no more.
115 . Here, he makes a threat against the kings, according to which they are to be punished in their own person; concerning this, he makes three points.
First, the command to announce is given, and the place of preaching indicated, at go down , because the temple where the prophet was standing to pray was located in an elevated place. Descend, and go with them, doubting nothing, because I have sent them (Acts 10:20).
Second, he gives counsel for their safety, when he seeks an audience: hear . And now, understand, O kings of the earth, be instructed, you who judge the land (Ps 2:10).
He proposes the counsel that he should do good and observe justice: thus says the Lord : execute judgment —the execution of justice, which properly belongs to the king and the judge. Love justice, O you who judge the earth (Wis 1:1). And by ending the perversion of justice: and free the one oppressed by violence . Rescue the poor and deliver the needy from the hand of the sinner (Ps 81:4). And in order that he should be free of evil with regard to the wrongful taking away of property: do not afflict the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow . You shall not vex the stranger, neither shall you afflict him (Exod 22:21). And with regard to killing the innocent: do not shed innocent blood . The innocent and the just man you shall not slay, because I abhor the wicked (Exod 23:7).
And he speaks of the fruit of this counsel when he proposes a reward to those who keep it: for if you shall surely do this word, kings of the line of David . . . shall enter through the gates of this house . The same is said above (Jer 17:25).
And proposes punishment to those who despise it: but if you will not hearken to these words, by myself I swear , because I have no one greater. For God in promising to Abraham, swore by himself, because he had no one greater by whom he might swear (Heb 6:13). This house , the palace or temple, shall be a waste . It shall be laid waste as when wasted by enemies (Isa 1:7).
Third, he predicts imminent danger:
first, against the royal city, touching its glory: for thus says the Lord concerning the house —Jerusalem— Gilead are you to me, the head of Lebanon ; that is, you were as the head to me in the entire kingdom, just as Gilead is the head of the plain which is on the height of Lebanon, where Laban found Jacob (Gen 31:17–25). The Lord loves the gates of Zion above all the tabernacles of Jacob (Ps 86:2). He predicts a future punishment when he speaks of the infliction of punishment with regard to the desolation of the city: yet surely I will make —it is as though he were saying, “Should I not be believed”— cities , subject to you. As a garden of pleasure is the land before it, and after it is a desolate wilderness (Joel 2:3).
And with regard to the slaying of men, he speaks of the killing: and I will sanctify ; it is as though he were saying: “I shall appoint to fulfill my command.” Likewise in Isaiah 13:3, I shall command my sanctified ones, and I shall call my strong ones in my wrath . And the killing: and he shall hew down cedars , that is, the greater among the people, to continue the metaphor. Open your gates, O Lebanon, and fire shall consume your cedars; wail, O fir, for the cedar has fallen, for the great are laid waste (Zech 11:1–2).
He speaks also of the astonishment at the punishment which is inflicted, and nations shall pass by , when he speaks of the question of those who are astonished: why has the Lord done so to this great city?
And the response of the listeners: and they will respond . And all the nations shall say, ‘Why has the Lord done so to this land? What is the great wrath of his fury?’ And they shall respond, ‘Because they have abandoned the covenant of the Lord, which he made with their fathers’ (Deut 29:24–25).
Second is mentioned the threat against the royal line:
first, against Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, at for thus says the Lord (Jer 22:11);
second, against Jotham, the son of Josiah, at woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness (Jer 22:13);
third, against Jekoniah, the son of Jehoiakim, at as I live says the Lord (Jer 22:24). 2 Kings 24 speaks of these things.
Concerning the first point, there are two things.
First is mentioned the threatening, where he forbids mourning for Josiah who has been killed: do not cry for the dead , namely, Josiah. Cry little for the dead, for they are at rest (Sir 22:11). And he indicts a lament for Jotham [Jehoahaz], who has been taken captive by Pharaoh: mourn for him . The eye which saw him shall not see, neither shall his place behold him any more (Job 20:9). It is called “weeping” when there is a profusion of tears; “mourning” adds a certain solemnity, but “lament” adds a further sense of complaining through words.
Second is posed the confirmation of the threat by divine sentence: for thus says the Lord to Shallum , Jehoiakim, because all the sons of Josiah were called Shallum, that is, “fulfillment,” because the kingdom came to an end in them. The Lord will cast you like a ball into a wide and spacious land. There you will die (Isa 22:18). And according to this, the entire prophecy of this chapter took place in the times of Jehoiakim; and he speaks of the captivity of Jotham [Jehoahaz] as though it was already past, and speaks of the captivity of others as though it were to come. But Jerome would have what has been said relate to Zedekiah, and that from the beginning of chapter 2 to this point the prophecy has taken place in the time of Zedekiah, and then Jehoiakim.
Lecture 2
Vanity of Jehoiakim’s works
22:13 Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by injustice, that will oppress his friend without cause, and not give him his wages.
22:14 Who says, ‘I shall build myself a broad house, and spacious chambers’; who opens windows for himself, and makes paneled roofs of cedar, and paints them with sinopia.
22:15 Shall you reign because you compare yourself to the cedar? Did not your father eat and drink, and execute judgment and justice, and then it was well with him?
22:16 He judged the cause of the poor, and the needy for his own good; was it not, therefore, because he knew me? says the Lord .
22:17 But your eyes and heart are set upon greed, and spilling innocent blood, and calumny, and running after evil works.
22:18 Because of these things the Lord says to Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah: they shall not mourn him, ‘Alas, brother!’ and, ‘Alas sister!’ They shall not lament for him, ‘Alas, lord,’ and, ‘Alas, glorious one!’
22:19 He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey, corrupted and cast outside the gates of Jerusalem.
22:20 Go up to Lebanon, and shout, and in Bashan give your voice; and cry to those who are passing by, for all your lovers are destroyed.
22:21 I spoke to you in your abundance, and you said, ‘I will not listen.’ This is your way from your youth, because you would not hear my voice.
22:22 The wind shall feed all your shepherds, and your lovers shall go into captivity; and then you will be ashamed, and you will blush at all your wickedness.
22:23 You who sit in Lebanon, and build a nest in the cedars, how you moaned when pain came upon you, like the pains of a woman in labor.
116 . Here, threat against Jehoiakim is made.
First, he reproves him for the sin of unjust building when he speaks of his unjust building: woe to him who builds —namely, Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah— chambers ( cenacula ), rooms, properly those to which one ascends by a ladder or steps, so-called from the verb, “to eat” ( cenare ). He who builds his house at other men’s charges is like the one who gathers his stones in winter (Sir 21:9). That will oppress his friend without cause , when he seeks help to build. The wages of your hired man shall not remain with you until morning (Lev 19:13).
He also speaks of the decoration of the building: who says, ‘I shall build myself a broad house’ . . . paneled roofs , which go up with ostentation by way of elevated chambers to the terrace; with sinopia , red in color, so called from the city of the Persians.
Second, he excludes the false confidence by which he promised himself prosperity, which his father Josiah had enjoyed, making a foolish comparison: shall you reign because you compare yourself to the cedar , to your father? I saw the wicked raised up and lifted high like the cedars of Lebanon (Ps 36:35). And he shows the difference between them when he sets forth the righteousness of the father: your father did eat , and nevertheless did not forsake righteousness because of his prosperity, and therefore it went well for him. And when I sat as king, with his army standing about him, I was as one who comforts those who mourn (Job 29:25).
And he sets forth the unrighteousness of the son: but your eyes , with regard to thought; and heart , with regard to the affections of the heart; upon greed , with regard to the unjust taking away of property, calumny —the false imputation of a crime, so that with such a pretext they might oppress; running after evil —it is as though he were saying, “What you conceive in your heart, you fulfill in deed.” Every thought of the heart of man is set on evil at all times (Gen 6:5).
Third, he threatens a punishment: because of these things the Lord says .
First, with regard to the king himself, with the lack of mourning: they , his relatives, shall not mourn . They shall not lament —his subjects at once being at peace. Above: they shall not be mourned, and they shall not be buried; they shall be like dung upon the face of the earth (Jer 16:4).
And the lack of burial: he shall be buried with the burial of a donkey because he will be thrown out to be devoured by beasts. All the kings of the nations, all have slept in glory, each man in his house; but you have been cast out of your tomb, like an unprofitable branch, defiled, and wrapped up with those who have been slain by the sword, and have gone down to the bottom of the pit (Isa 14:19).
Various things in various places are said about Jehoiakim. For in 2 Kings 24:2 it is said that the Lord sent robbers from the neighboring nations against him, to kill him; and he slept with his fathers . But in 2 Chronicles 36, it is said that the king of Babylon came up against him and led him to Babylon as a captive. Josephus, however, says that when Nebuchadnezzar, or Nebuzaradan, had entered the city, he broke the treaty and killed many young men, among whom was also Jehoiakim. Now this was said because he was unburied. And therefore, in order to bring all of this into harmony, one must know that Jehoiakim had been substituted for Jotham [Jehoahaz] his brother and that he reigned with the king of Egypt. Finally, in the eighth year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar came against him, and Jehoiakim surrendered himself to him. He was also made tributary to him for two years. In the tenth year, however, he rebelled. For this reason, Nebuchadnezzar came against him and led him captive to Babylon; he made a treaty with him while en route, and he was returned to Jerusalem. But Nebuzaradan, having gathered together robbers from the neighboring nations, entered Jerusalem, and breaking the treaty, killed him; when he had been buried in the tombs of the kings by the people of the land, Nebuzaradan became indignant and had him dug up and thrown to the beasts to be devoured.
Second, against his princes, when he speaks of their destruction: go up to Lebanon , the temple mount, in Bashan , which lies next to the mount of Jerusalem. You who tell good news to Zion go up a high mountain (Isa 40:9). Lovers , princes and defenders.
He also gives the reason here as arising from disobedience: I spoke to you in your abundance , that is, when you abounded with good things given to you by me. As it says above: attend to the voice of the trumpet . But they said, ‘We shall not attend’ (Jer 6:17). And from ancient custom: this is your way , namely, disobedience, from your youth , from the time they came out of Egypt. I have called you a transgressor from the womb (Isa 48:8). As it says above: from of old you have broken my yoke, you have burst my chains asunder, and you have said, ‘I will not serve’ (Jer 2:20).
And he gives the manner and order of their destruction: all your shepherds , that is, the princes, the wind shall feed , driving them into captivity; lovers , the Egyptians. Ephraim pastures on the wind, and follows the burning heat (Hos 12:1).
Third, he makes a threat against the royal city itself—shame: and you will blush . . . who sit in Lebanon , by which is signified pride. What fruit, therefore, have you had from those things of which you are now ashamed (Rom 6:21). And sorrow: how you moaned when pain came upon you, like the pains of a woman in labor . The past is set for the future. There were pains as of a woman in labor (Ps 47:7).
Lecture 3
Threat against Jekoniah
22:24 As I live, says the Lord , that even if Jekoniah, the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, were a ring upon my right hand, I would pull him thence.
22:25 And I will give you into the hand of those who seek your soul, and into the hand of those whose face you fear, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
22:26 And I will send you, and your mother, who bore you, to a strange land, in which you were not born, and there you shall die:
22:27 and they shall not return to the land unto which they lift up their soul to return there.
22:28 Is this man Jekoniah a broken earthen vessel? Is he a vessel in which there is no pleasure? Why are they cast out, he and his seed, and driven forth into a land which they did not know?
117 . Here is given the threat against Jekoniah:
first, he threatens captivity;
second, sterility, at O earth, earth, earth (Jer 22:29).
Concerning the first, there are two points.
First, the threat of captivity is given, which threatens loss of dignity and the cessation of divine assistance: even if Jekoniah, the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, were a ring upon my right hand —however much he is in a walled place, and however much he is the king of my people— I would pull him thence , by depriving him of his dignity and my help. I will remove your candlestick from its place, unless you repent (Rev 2:5).
He also threatens slavery to the enemy: and I will give you . The Lord has given me into a hand from which I shall not be able to escape (Lam 1:14).
He also threatens captivity: and I will send . Why is it, O Israel, that you are in the land of your enemies, that you have grown old in a strange land? (Bar 3:10–11).
Second, the wonderment at the threat is given: is this man Jekoniah a broken earthen vessel , as though having no firmness of strength, or power; no pleasure , because the Lord does not delight in him. The heart of a fool is like a broken vessel; it shall hold no wisdom (Sir 21:17).
Lecture 4
Curse of sterility
22:29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord .
22:30 Thus says the Lord : write this man sterile, a man who shall not prosper in his days; for neither shall there be any of the seed of this man who may sit upon the throne of David and have power any more in Judah.
118 . Here, he threatens sterility, which will not even be able to hold on to the fruit of the present prosperity: O earth, earth, earth ; it is as though he were saying, “Although men do not listen, they shall at least obey insensible things.” Alternatively, it is metonymy—substituting the container for the contained—and he speaks to the greater expression; alternatively, because of the three parts of the earth: let the earth hear the words of my mouth (Deut 32:1).
Write , as a sentence, which is given in writing so that it may be remembered. As it says above: the sin of Judah is written with an iron pen, and a nail of diamond (Jer 17:1). Sterile , because he will not perceive with his mind those things which would be useful to him. A man who shall not prosper , in his works. He will also be sterile with regard to the fruit of succession to the royal dignity. For neither shall there be this man , who is purely human; for Christ was of his seed, but was God and man, as it says in Matthew 1. Neither was he a king in that manner of reigning, but he reigns eternally at the right hand of God the Father. And have royal power , because Zerubbabel, his grandson, was not king of the people. As it says below: there shall be no one left of him who may sit upon the throne of David (Jer 36:30).
Collations
A note concerning the verse, do not cry for the dead (Jer 22:10)—that one must not weep much for the dead because of the uselessness of grieving: do not give your heart to sadness, but drive it from you (Sir 38:21); because death is common to all: we all die, and like water, which does not return again, we are poured out on the earth (2 Sam 14:14); because of freedom from guilt: he was taken lest wickedness change his understanding, or falsehood deceive his soul (Wis 4:11); because of rest from labor: from henceforth now, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors (Rev 14:13); because of the attainment of glory: for we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, but eternal in the heavens (2 Cor 5:1).
Also, concerning the verse, the wind shall feed all your shepherds (Jer 22:22), note that sometimes the shepherds of the Church are fed by the wind of self-importance: the wind shall bear all of them away, and the breeze shall take them (Isa 57:13); the wind of excessive expectation: as one who grasps a shadow, and one who chases the wind, so is one who attends to lying visions (Sir 34:2); the wind of captivity: you shall scatter a third part to the wind, and you shall draw the sword after them (Ezek 5:2); and the wind of future damnation, as it says above: as a burning wind I will scatter them before the enemy. In the day of their destruction, I shall show them my back, and not my face (Jer 18:17).