Jeremiah 22:5
in Jeremiah 22But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by Myself, declares the LORD, that this house will become a pile of rubble.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith Jehovah, that this house shall become a desolation.
KJV
But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.
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This verse in Jeremiah 22
Commentary
5 notes on this verseBut if ye will not hear these words,.... Will give no attention, and yield no obedience to them: I swear by myself, saith the Lord; and by a greater he cannot swear; and that is the reason why he swears by himself, Heb 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.
This site's exposition
This is what the LORD says
on Jeremiah 22:1-5
Jeremiah is sent to “the palace of the king of Judah” with a word for the king “who sits on the throne of David.” He is to “Administer justice and righteousness,” and to do no wrong “to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.”
This site's exposition
I swear by Myself
The LORD swears by Himself, having no one greater to swear by (Hebrews 6:13). Gill notes that an oath makes a threat certain. The palace that could have held David's sons would become a pile of rubble.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter XXII - Verses 1 onwards) Thus says the Lord: Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David, you and your servants and your people who enter by these gates. Thus says the Lord, Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the hand of his oppressor. And do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
13 ) that this house shall be laid in ruins. Note, Sin will be the ruin of the houses of princes as well as of mean men. He must show how fatal their wickedness would be to their kingdom as well as to themselves, to Jerusalem especially, the royal city,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִם֙ | veim | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִשְׁמְע֔וּ | tishmeu | you will listen to | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַדְּבָרִ֖ים | hadevarim | the words | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הָאֵ֑לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| בִּ֤י | bi | by <the> myself | ||
| נִשְׁבַּ֙עְתִּי֙ | nishba'ti | I swear | H7650 → | 186 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לְחָרְבָּ֥ה | lecharebah | <into> a ruin | H2723 → | 42 times |
| יִֽהְיֶ֖ה | yihyeh | it will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הַבַּ֥יִת | habayit | the house | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הַזֶּֽה׃ ס | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
וְאִם֙and if
veimH518 →1069 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִשְׁמְע֔וּyou will listen to
tishmeuH8085 →1159 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַדְּבָרִ֖יםthe words
hadevarimH1697 →1440 times
הָאֵ֑לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
בִּ֤יby <the> myself
bi
נִשְׁבַּ֙עְתִּי֙I swear
nishba'tiH7650 →186 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
כִּי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
לְחָרְבָּ֥ה<into> a ruin
lecharebahH2723 →42 times
יִֽהְיֶ֖הit will become
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
הַבַּ֥יִתthe house
habayitH1004 →2046 times
הַזֶּֽה׃ ס<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Hebrews 6:13When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself,
it leads to
- Genesis 22:15–18
And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time,
- Psalms 105:9–10
the covenant He made with Abraham, and the oath He swore to Isaac.
- Micah 7:20
You will show faithfulness to Jacob and loving devotion to Abraham, as You swore to our fathers from the days of old.
- Genesis 22:15–18
Through
Genesis 22:16saying, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your only son,
it leads to
- Luke 1:73
the oath He swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 6:13–14
When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself,
- Psalms 105:9
the covenant He made with Abraham, and the oath He swore to Isaac.
- Luke 1:73
Through
Amos 6:8The Lord GOD has sworn by Himself—the LORD, the God of Hosts, has declared: “I abhor Jacob’s pride and detest his citadels, so I will deliver up the city and everything in it.”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:14
The LORD of Hosts has sworn by Himself: “Surely I will fill you up with men as with locusts, and they will shout in triumph over you.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 51:14
Through
Jeremiah 17:27But if you do not listen to Me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying a load while entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 25:9
He burned down the house of the LORD, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem—every significant building.
- 2 Kings 25:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.