Boldly by name is the judgment at length pronounced upon Jehoiakim. Dreaded by all around him, he shall soon lie an unheeded corpse, with no one to lament. No loving relative shall make such wailing as when a brother or sister is carried to the grave; nor shall he have the respect of his subjects, Ah Lord! or, Ah his glory! read more
The burial of an ass - i. e., he shall merely be dragged out of the way, and left to decay unheeded. Nothing is known of the fulfillment of this prophecy. read more
The third example, Jehoiachin. With him all the best and noblest of the land were dragged from their homes to people the void places of Babylon.The passages - Really, Abarim, a range of mountains to the south of Gilead, opposite Jericho (see Numbers 27:12; Deuteronomy 32:49). Jeremiah names the chief ranges of mountains, which overlook the route from Jerusalem to Babylon, in regular order, beginning with Lebanon upon the north, then Bashan on the northeast, and lastly Abarim on the... read more
Prosperity - literally, as in the margin. God spake thus not once only, but whenever Judah was at peace. read more
Shall eat up all thy pastors - literally, shall depasture (Jeremiah 2:16 note) thy pastors. Those who used to drive their flocks to consume the herbage shall themselves be the first prey of war. The “pastors” mean not the kings only, but all in authority. read more
Lebanon is the usual metaphor for anything splendid. and is here put for Jerusalem, but with special reference to the kings whose pride it was to dwell in palaces roofed with cedar Jeremiah 22:14.How gracious shalt thou be - Or, How wilt thou groan! read more
The words “king of Judah,” belong to Coniah, and prove that he was king regnant when the prophet wrote. The prophet gives him the name by which he was known when in a private station 1 Chronicles 3:16 as he had done previously with Jehoahaz. These two kings bore their royal names for so short a time that they probably never got into general use.The signet - The badge of office. To part with it, was to part with the royal authority. read more
Mother - See Jeremiah 13:18. It was her relationship, not to the dead king, but to the king regnant, which made her powerful. read more
Idol - Rather, vessel. Is Coniah a mere piece of common earthenware in which the potter has no pleasure, and therefore breaks it? It is a lamentation over Jehoiachin’s hard fate, and that of his seed. This and the two following verses may have been written after the king had been carried into captivity. read more
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Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Jeremiah 22:17
Covetousness - literally, gain. Besides exacting forced labor Jehoiakim, to procure the necessary means for the vast expenses he incurred, put innocent people to death on various pretexts, and escheated their property. read more