John Gill Commentary Jeremiah 22

Thus says the Lord, go down to the house of the king of
Judah
To the palace of Jehoiakim, who was now the reigning king; the prophet is bid to go down to it, because, asKimchi thinks, he was now upon the mountain of the house, or in the temple, from which to the king's housethere was a descent: and speak there this word ;
of prophecy, relating to the several kings hereafter mentioned. This prophecy was delivered some years beforethat in the preceding chapter, though it stands here. It is indeed by some thought to be repeated here onoccasion of what is before said, and for the confirmation of it, putting in mind of what he had prophesied informer times: and they render the words, with which it begins, "thus has the Lord said" ^F24 ; sohe said to me years ago; which agrees with what is now delivered.

FOOTNOTES:

• F24: (rma hk) "haec dixit", Grotius; "sic dixit", Schmidt.

And say, hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah O Jehoiakim king of Judah, hear the word of the King of kings; listen to it, and obey it, as kings ought to do; and it is for their good, as well as it is their duty, so to do:

that sittest upon the throne of David whom he mentions, to put him in mind of his illustrious ancestor, whose successor he was, that he might be prompted to follow his example:

thou, and thy servants, and that people that enter in by these gates the king and his courtiers, his nobles and privy counsellors, that were continually waiting upon him, and were frequently passing and repassing the gates of the palace; for not the gates of the court in the temple are meant, as Kimchi suggests; and all other people, that either waited on or came to the king, upon business, with their suits, and to have their causes heard and tried.

Thus says the Lord, execute you judgment and righteousness , &c.] Judge righteous Judgment; give the cause to whom it belongs, without respect of persons, and without a bribe or corruption; do no unrighteousness to any, by withholding from them what is due unto them, which was what this prince was chargeable with, (Jeremiah 22:13) ;

and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor ; that was robbed or wronged of his property by one superior to him in power or cunning; (See Gill on Jeremiah 21:12);

and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow : who are not in a situation, and in such a condition and circumstances, as to defend themselves; and whom God has a peculiar regard unto; and therefore they who are his deputies and vicegerents, as kings and civil magistrates are, ought to protect such persons, and neither grieve and injure them themselves, nor suffer others to do it:

neither shed innocent blood in this place ; to grieve and wrong the above persons is a very great evil, but to shed the blood of innocent persons is a greater still; and this is aggravated by being committed by such who are set over men to secure and preserve their properties and their lives; and such heinous sins as these the present reigning king of Judah was guilty of; which is the reason of their being mentioned; see (Jeremiah 22:17) .

For if you do this thing indeed
Or, "in doing do this word" ^F25 ; diligently and carefully attend to this word of exhortation, and constantly perform the duties required: then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting
upon the throne of David ;
or, upon the throne for David: in his room and stead, as successors of his; or of his lineage and descent, as the Vulgate Latin version. The meaning is, that should the kings of Judah do the duty of their office, before pointed at, there should never be any want of successors of the seed of David; but there should be a race of kings descending from him, and sitting on his throne in all after ages, who should dwell in the royal palace, and go in and out at the gates of it;

and they should also live in great pomp and splendour, in royal dignity, answerable to their characters: riding in chariots, and on horses, he, and his servants, and his
people ;
the king, his nobles, and other his attendants; some on one, and some on another, when they went out or came in; see (Jeremiah 17:25) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F25: (rbdh ta wvet wve Ma yk) "si namque faciendo feceritis verbum hoc", Montanus, Schmidt.

But if you will not hear these words Will give no attention, and yield no obedience to them: I swear by myself, says the Lord ; and by a greater he cannot swear; and that is the reason why he swears by himself, (Hebrews 6:13) ; and as, when he swears to a promise, it shows the immutability of it, the certainty of its performance, and that it is irreversible, and never repented of, nor revoked; so it is when he swears to a threatening. The Targum is, ``by my word I swear:'' that this house shall become a desolation ; meaning not the temple, nor the city, but the king's palace.