“As I live,” declares the Lord, “even if Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a signet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull you off;
Parallel translations
- WEB “As I live,” says Yahweh, “though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet on my right hand, yet would I pluck you from there;
- KJV As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;
- BSB “As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “even if you, Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on My right hand, I would pull you off.
- NKJV “As I live,” says the Lord, “though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet on My right hand, yet I would pluck you off;
- NLT “As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “I will abandon you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah. Even if you were the signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God swears that even if King Coniah were a signet ring on His hand, He would pull him off. The king is decisively rejected.
Overview
Coniah (Jehoiachin) is told that, though a signet ring symbolized the king's cherished authority and was kept close at hand, God would tear him away. This reverses the honor of his office and signals total rejection. The pronouncement shows that no royal status protects against God's judgment, and it deepens the crisis of the Davidic line that the promise of the righteous Branch will resolve.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Jer 37:1Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned as king, instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah.
- 1 Chr 3:16The sons of Jehoiakim: Jeconiah his son, and Zedekiah his son.
- Song 8:6Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm; for love is strong as death. Jealousy is as cruel as Sheol. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a very flame of Yahweh.
- 2 Kgs 24:6–8So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.
- Hag 2:23In that day, says Yahweh of Armies, will I take you, Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel,’ says Yahweh, ‘and will make you as a signet, for I have chosen you,’ says Yahweh of Armies.”
- Matt 1:11–12Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the exile to Babylon.
- Jer 22:28Is this man Coniah a despised broken vessel? Is he a vessel in which no one delights? Why are they cast out, he and his offspring, and cast into a land which they don’t know?
- Jer 22:6For Yahweh says concerning the house of the king of Judah: “You are Gilead to me, the head of Lebanon. Yet surely I will make you a wilderness, cities which are not inhabited.
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 22:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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