Jeremiah 22:15

Jeremiah 22:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Do you think you are a king because you compete in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Shall you reign because you enclose yourself in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink, And do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him.
• New Living Translation (NLT)But a beautiful cedar palace does not make a great king! Your father, Josiah, also had plenty to eat and drink. But he was just and right in all his dealings. That is why God blessed him.

Context of Jeremiah 22:15

13“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labor. 14He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace with spacious upper rooms.’ So he makes large windows in it, panels it with cedar and decorates it in red. “Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. 16He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” declares the Lord. 17“But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion.”

Jeremiah 22:15 word by word

הֲתִֽמְלֹ֔ךְ כִּ֥י אַתָּ֖ה מְתַחֲרֶ֣ה בָאָ֑רֶז אָבִ֜יךָ הֲל֧וֹא אָכַ֣ל וְשָׁתָ֗ה וְעָשָׂ֤ה מִשְׁפָּט֙ וּצְדָקָ֔ה אָ֖ז ט֥וֹב לֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Shalt thou reignמָלַךְmâlak · to reignH4427
• because thou closestתַּחָרָהtachârâh · to contendH8474
• in cedarאֶ֫רֶז'erez · cedarH730
• did not thy fatherאָב'âb · fatherH1
• eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• and drinkשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
• and doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
• and justiceצְדָקָהtsedâqâh · righteousnessH6666
• wellטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896

Cross-references for Jeremiah 22:15

• Jeremiah 22:18Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: “They will not mourn for him: ‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’ They will not mourn for him: ‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’
• 2 Kings 23:25Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.
• 1 Chronicles 3:15The sons of Josiah: Johanan the firstborn, Jehoiakim the second son, Zedekiah the third, Shallum the fourth.
• 1 Kings 4:20The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy.
• 2 Chronicles 35:7Josiah provided for all the lay people who were there a total of thirty thousand lambs and goats for the Passover offerings, and also three thousand cattle—all from the king’s own possessions.
• Ecclesiastes 2:24A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God,
• Ecclesiastes 9:7Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do.
• Ecclesiastes 10:17Blessed is the land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a proper time— for strength and not for drunkenness.
• Isaiah 33:16they are the ones who will dwell on the heights, whose refuge will be the mountain fortress. Their bread will be supplied, and water will not fail them.
• Luke 11:41But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.
• Acts 2:46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
• 1 Corinthians 10:31So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
• Jeremiah 22:3This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.
• Jeremiah 21:12This is what the Lord says to you, house of David: “ ‘Administer justice every morning; rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed, or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no one to quench it.
• Jeremiah 23:5“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.
• 2 Samuel 8:15David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 22:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15Shalt thou reign, etc - Dost thou think thou art a great king, because thou dwellest in a splendid palace?Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15i. e., Will thy buildings make thy reign continue? These words imply that Jehoiakim was looking forward to, and taking measures to secure, a long continuance of power (compare Habakkuk 2:9-13. If so, Jeremiah probably wrote this prophecy before Jehoiakim revolted 2 Kings 24:1; and it, therefore, probably belongs to the same date as Jeremiah 36:30, written in the interval between Nebuchadnezzars first conquest of Jerusalem, and Jehoiakim‘s rebellion, and…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-19Verses 10-19 Here is a sentence of death upon two kings, the wicked sons of a very pious father. Josiah was prevented from seeing the evil to come in this world, and removed to see the good to come in the other world; therefore, weep not for him, but for his son Shallum, who is likely to live and die a wretched captive. Dying saints may be justly envied, while living sinners are justly pitied. Here also is the doom of Jehoiakim. No doubt it is lawful for…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 15-16If Jehoiakim wanted plenty to eat and drink, he did not need to use corruption and oppression. Compared to his prosperous father, Josiah, Jehoiakim was not a great king. Josiah, on the other hand, was fair and honest in all his actions, serving both God and his people. Because he followed the ancient covenant's rules, God blessed him.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. closest thyself--rather, "thou viest," that is, art emulous to surpass thy forefathers in the magnificence of thy palaces. eat and drink--Did not Josiah, thy father, enjoy all that man really needs for his bodily wants? Did he need to build costly palaces to secure his throne? Nay, he did secure it by "judgment and justice"; whereas thou, with all thy luxurious building, sittest on a tottering throne. then--on that account, therefore.Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 22:15

• Blessing
• Jehoiakim
• Rich, the
• Works

In the dictionaries

• Amos (1)
• Captivity
• Close
• Genesis
• Jehoiakim
• Justice
• Uriah; Uruah

Commentaries on Jeremiah 22

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings