I. Summary
Jeremiah prophesies exile and doom for the descendants of king Josiah.
II. Photo
King Jehoiakim will die ignominiously: “He shall have the burial of an ass, dragged out and left lying outside the gates of Jerusalem.” (v. 19)
III. Select Verses
2-5: Say: “Hear the word of the LORD: O king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David, and your courtiers and your subjects who enter these gates! Thus said the LORD: Do what is just and right; rescue from the defrauder him who is robbed; do not wrong the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow; commit no lawless act, and do not shed the blood of the innocent in this place. For if you fulfill this command, then through the gates of this palace shall enter kings of David’s line who sit upon his throne, riding horse-drawn chariots, with their courtiers and their subjects. But if you do not heed these commands, I swear by Myself — declares the LORD — that this palace shall become a ruin.”
10-12: Do not weep for the dead And do not lament for him; Weep rather for him who is leaving, For he shall never come back To see the land of his birth! For thus said the LORD concerning Shallum son of King Josiah of Judah, who succeeded his father Josiah as king, but who has gone forth from this place: He shall never come back. He shall die in the place to which he was exiled, and he shall not see this land again.
18-19: Assuredly, thus said the LORD concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah: They shall not mourn for him, “Ah, brother! Ah, sister!” They shall not mourn for him, “Ah, lord! Ah, his majesty!” He shall have the burial of an ass, Dragged out and left lying Outside the gates of Jerusalem.
24-26: As I live — declares the LORD — if you, O King Coniah, son of Jehoiakim, of Judah, were a signet on my right hand, I would tear you off even from there. I will deliver you into the hands of those who seek your life, into the hands of those you dread, into the hands of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon and into the hands of the Chaldeans. I will hurl you and the mother who bore you into another land, where you were not born; there you shall both die.
30: Thus said the LORD: Record this man [Coniah] as without succession, One who shall never be found acceptable; For no man of his offspring shall be accepted To sit on the throne of David And to rule again in Judah.
IV. Outline
1-2. Call to prophesy
3-5. Ultimatum: justice brings kingship, failure brings doom
6-9. Future punishments
10-12. Shallum will die in exile
13-16. Josiah’s greatness was justice; his son’s [Shallum’s? Jehoiakim’s?] palace is not great
17. Condemnation
18-19. Jehoiakim will die in ignominy
20-23. Condemnation and future punishment
24-30. Coniah’s (Jehoiachin’s) and his mother’s future exile; the end of the dynasty
V. Comment
No comment today. Stay tuned.
VI. Works Used
(see “Commentaries” page)
Photo copied from
