Charles Ellicott Commentary Jeremiah 21:12

"O house of David, thus saith Jehovah, Execute justice in the morning, and deliver him that is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings." — Jeremiah 21:12 (ASV)

Execute judgment in the morning. —The words point to one of the chief duties of the ideal Eastern king. To rise at dawn, to sit in the gate and listen to the complaints of those who had been wronged, was the surest way to gain the affection of his people.

It was David’s neglect of this that gave an opening for the rebellion of Absalom (2 Samuel 15:2). Solomon’s early fame for wisdom rested on his discharge of this duty (1 Kings 3:28).

If the king remained slothfully in his palace in those golden hours of morning, the midday heat made it impossible for him to retrieve the lost opportunity. (Compare 2 Samuel 4:5) Still worse was it when, as with luxurious and sensual kings, the morning hours were given to revelry and feasting (Ecclesiastes 10:16–17).