Jeremias 22

BLIVRE · Chapter 22/52

1Assim diz o SENHOR: Desce à casa do rei de Judá, e fala ali esta palavra,

2E dize: Ouve a palavra do SENHOR, ó rei de Judá, que te sentas sobre o trono de Davi; tu, teus servos, e teu povo, que entrais por estas portas.

3Assim diz o SENHOR: Fazei juízo e justiça, e livrai a vítima de roubo da mão do opressor, e não oprimais, nem façais violência contra o estrangeiro, o órfão, ou à viúva, nem derrameis sangue inocente neste lugar.

4Porque se verdadeiramente cumprirdes esta palavra, os reis que se sentam em lugar de Davi sobre seu trono entrarão montados sobre carruagens e sobre cavalos pelas portas desta casa; eles, e seus servos, e seu povo.

5Porém se não obedecerdes estas palavras, por mim mesmo tenho jurado, diz o SENHOR, que esta casa se tornará deserta.

6Porque assim diz o SENHOR quanto à casa do rei de Judá: Tu és para mim [como] Gileade, [e] o topo do Líbano; porém certamente te tornarei em deserto, [e] cidades desabitadas.

7Pois prepararei contra ti destruidores, cada um com suas armas; e cortarão teus mais valiosos cedros, e os lançarão no fogo.

8E muitas nações passarão junto a esta cidade; e cada um dirá a seu companheiro: Por que o SENHOR fez isto com esta grande cidade?

9E responderão: Porque deixaram o pacto do SENHOR seu Deus, e adoraram a deuses estrangeiros, e os serviram.

10Não choreis pelo morto, nem dele vos lastimeis; mas chorai mesmo por aquele que vai embora; porque nunca mais voltará, nem verá a terra onde nasceu.

11Porque assim diz o SENHOR quanto a Salum, filho de Josias, rei de Judá, que reinava em lugar de Josias seu pai, que saiu deste lugar: Nunca mais voltará;

12Em vez disso, morrerá no lugar aonde o levaram cativo, e nunca mais verá esta terra.

13Ai daquele que edifica sua casa com injustiça, e seus cômodos sem fazer o que é correto, que usa do serviço de seu próximo de graça, sem lhe dar o pagamento de seu trabalho!

14Que diz: Edificarei para mim uma casa ampla, com cômodos arejados; e lhe abre janelas, e a cobre de cedro, e a pinta de vermelho.

15Por acaso é acumulando cedro que serás rei? Por acaso teu pai não comeu e bebeu, e fez juízo e justiça, [e] então teve o bem?

16Ele julgou a causa do aflito e do necessitado, e então esteve bem. Por acaso conhecer a mim não é isto?diz o SENHOR.

17Mas teus olhos e teu coração não são [para outra coisa] , a não ser para tua ganância, para derramar sangue inocente, e para praticar opressão e violência.

18Portanto assim diz o SENHOR quanto a Jeoaquim, filho de Josias, rei de Judá: Não lamentarão por ele, dizendo: Ai meu irmão!, ou Ai minha irmã!, Nem lamentarão por ele, dizendo: Ai senhor! Ai sua majestade!

19Com sepultamento de asno será sepultado; arrastando e lançando [-o] longe, fora das portas de Jerusalém.

20Sobe ao Líbano, e clama, levanta tua voz em Basã, e grita desde Abarim; porque todos teus amantes estão destruídos.

21Falei contigo em tuas prosperidades; [mas] disseste: Não ouvirei. Este tem sido o teu caminho desde tua juventude, que nunca deste ouvidos à minha voz.

22O vento apascentará a todos os teus pastores, e teus amantes irão ao cativeiro; então certamente te envergonharás e te humilharás por causa de toda a tua maldade.

23Tu, que habitas no Líbano, que fazes teu ninho nos cedros: como gemerás quando te vierem as dores, os sofrimentos como de mulher em parto!

24Vivo eu,diz o SENHOR, que se Conias, filho de Jeoaquim rei de Judá, fosse um anel em minha mão direita, até dali eu te arrancaria;

25E eu te entregarei na mão dos que buscam a tua vida, e na mão daqueles a quem tu temes: na mão de Nabucodonosor rei da Babilônia, e nas mão dos Caldeus.

26E lançarei a ti e a tua mãe, que te fez nascer, em uma terra estrangeira, em que não nascestes; e lá morrereis.

27Mas a terra à qual suas almas anseiam voltar, para lá nunca voltarão.

28É este homem Conias um pote quebrado, ou um vaso de quem ninguém se agrada? Por que ele e sua geração foram arremessados fora, e lançados a uma terra que não conhecem?

29Terra, terra, terra: ouve a palavra do SENHOR!

30Assim diz o SENHOR: Escrevei este homem como sem filhos, homem a quem nada prosperará nos dias de sua vida; pois nenhum homem de sua semente prosperará em se sentar sobre o trono de Davi, e em reinar em Judá.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Jeremiah pronounces specific judgments against the last kings of Judah — Shallum (Jehoahaz), Jehoiakim, and Coniah (Jehoiachin) — for social injustice and for trusting in luxury and oppression instead of justice.

Explanation

The chapter names three kings, each receiving a distinct prophetic sentence: Shallum would never return from his exile in Egypt; Jehoiakim would be 'buried like a donkey,' with no honor at all despite his luxurious palace built with unpaid labor; and Coniah would be torn off like a 'signet ring,' precious as he was, and none of his descendants would reign successfully. The central criticism is not against kingship itself, but against the abuse of power — building personal wealth while denying workers fair wages is named as the central sin of these kings, a principle of social justice that runs throughout Scripture.

Fun facts

  • Coniah is another name for King Jehoiachin (Jeconiah), the same one listed in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:11-12, despite the curse pronounced here over his royal line.
  • The phrase 'build his house by unrighteousness' literally described the use of forced or unpaid labor in the construction of palaces, a practice also denounced by other prophets such as Micah.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Jeremias 22:1God tells Jeremiah to go straight to the royal palace to deliver a specific message to the monarchy — the message shifts from the general public to royalty.
  2. Jeremias 22:2The message is addressed to whoever currently sits on David’s throne, but it also reaches the whole court and the people who move through the palace.
  3. Jeremias 22:3Lists the concrete demands for the monarchy: active social justice, protecting the most vulnerable groups — the same demand already made of the people in general back in chapter 7.
  4. Jeremias 22:4Repeats the conditional promise already seen before: by obeying these demands, David’s dynasty would continue reigning with prosperity and honor.
  5. Jeremias 22:5The alternative is harsh: God personally swears that, without obedience, the royal palace itself will become ruins.
  6. Jeremias 22:6Compares the royal palace, decorated with the famous cedar wood of Lebanon, to regions famous for their beauty — but warns that it will become an empty wasteland.
  7. Jeremias 22:7Continues the image: the invaders will literally cut down and burn the noble cedars used in the palace’s construction, a concrete symbol of the monarchy’s destruction.
  8. Jeremias 22:8Anticipates the reaction of foreigners at the destruction of Jerusalem, asking in surprise why such an important city fell this way.
  9. Jeremias 22:9Gives the answer foreigners will give one another: the cause of the fall was abandoning the covenant with God in exchange for other gods — a public example to other nations.
  10. Jeremias 22:10The dead man is King Josiah, killed in battle against Egypt in 609 BC; the one who goes away is Shallum, the name Jehoahaz used, taken prisoner to Egypt by Pharaoh Necho shortly after, and who would never return. That is why Jeremiah asks them to weep more for him than for his dead father.
  11. Jeremias 22:11Shallum is another name for Jehoahaz, Josiah’s son who reigned only three months before being deposed by Egypt and taken away — God confirms he will never return to Judah.
  12. Jeremias 22:12Confirms Jehoahaz’s final fate: he will die in exile, in Egypt, never seeing his homeland again — sadder, according to Jeremiah, than his father Josiah’s fate, who at least died at home.
  13. Jeremias 22:13The criticism of King Jehoiakim, who was building a luxurious palace using unpaid labor, is a direct contrast with his father Josiah, who did justice for the afflicted. Jeremiah uses the comparison between father and son to show that religious status or fine buildings don’t replace basic justice.
  14. Jeremias 22:14Describes the next king’s ambition for luxury, likely Jehoiakim’s: building a large, richly decorated palace, a theme that draws the criticism in the following verses.
  15. Jeremias 22:15God questions whether palace luxury really defines a good ruler, comparing him to his father Josiah, who succeeded not through luxury but by practicing real justice.
  16. Jeremias 22:16Defines directly what it means to truly know God: not ritual or wealth, but doing justice on behalf of the needy, as King Josiah did.
  17. Jeremias 22:17In contrast to his father Josiah, the son is accused of caring only about personal greed, even shedding innocent blood to get what he wants.
  18. Jeremias 22:18Finally identifies the criticized king as Jehoiakim, and announces that he will receive no mourning worthy of a king when he dies — no family lamentation, no royal honors.
  19. Jeremias 22:19Describes an extremely dishonorable death for Jehoiakim: his body will be thrown out like an animal’s, without the respectful burial expected for a king.
  20. Jeremias 22:20Calls on Jerusalem, personified as a woman, to mourn in every direction, because her political allies, her “lovers,” have already been defeated.
  21. Jeremias 22:21God recalls that the warnings had come from the very beginning, from the nation’s times of prosperity, but the response was always the same refusal to listen.
  22. Jeremias 22:22Announces that both the leaders, the “pastors,” and the political allies will be swept away by the wind of judgment, leaving Jerusalem ashamed and without support.
  23. Jeremias 22:23Returns to the image of the cedar palace to describe the pain coming: even comfortable and protected, Jerusalem will suffer pains compared to those of childbirth.
  24. Jeremias 22:24Coniah, also called Jehoiachin or Jeconiah, was the second-to-last king of Judah, taken captive while still young by the Babylonians in 597 BC. Saying that none of his descendants would ever reign again marks the end of the direct Davidic line of succession — a problem resolved another way in chapter 23, with the promise of the righteous Branch.
  25. Jeremias 22:25Directly names the instrument of judgment against King Coniah, Jeconiah: he will be handed over to the very Babylonian king he feared so much.
  26. Jeremias 22:26Announces that Jeconiah and his mother, the queen mother, a figure of great influence at Judah’s court, will die in exile, far from the land where they were born.
  27. Jeremias 22:27Confirms that the desire to return home will never be fulfilled for Jeconiah — the exile will be final, with no return.
  28. Jeremias 22:28A rhetorical question of astonishment: why would a king of David’s line be discarded like a broken, worthless object, he and all his descendants?
  29. Jeremias 22:29A solemn summons, repeating the word “earth” three times for maximum emphasis, calling all creation to witness the final announcement about Jeconiah.
  30. Jeremias 22:30Closes the chapter with a sentence put in writing: no direct descendant of Jeconiah would ever actually sit on David’s throne again, even though he would have children of his own.

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