But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.
Parallel translations
- WEB But if you will not hear these words, I swear by myself,” says Yahweh, “that this house shall become a desolation.”’”
- BSB But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by Myself, declares the LORD, that this house will become a pile of rubble.’”
- NKJV But if you will not hear these words, I swear by Myself,” says the Lord, “that this house shall become a desolation.” ’ ”
- NASB But if you will not obey these words, I swear by Myself,” declares the Lord, “that this house will become a place of ruins.” ’ ”
- NLT But if you refuse to pay attention to this warning, I swear by my own name, says the Lord, that this palace will become a pile of rubble.’”
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
If the kings refuse to obey, God swears the palace will become a ruin. Persistent disobedience guarantees desolation.
Overview
God binds the warning with an oath sworn by Himself, the strongest possible assurance, that the royal house faces ruin if it spurns His word. The solemnity underscores that the choice between blessing and judgment is real and weighty. History confirmed the warning when Jerusalem fell, demonstrating that God's threats, like His promises, are utterly certain.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Amos 6:8The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.
- Jer 17:27But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.
- Heb 6:13For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
- Gen 22:16And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
- Deut 32:40–42For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever.
- Jer 7:13–14And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;
- Isa 1:20But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
- Jer 26:6–9Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.
- Jer 39:8And the Chaldeans burned the king’s house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem.
- 2 Chr 7:19But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;
- Heb 3:18And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
- Amos 8:7–8The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.
- Heb 6:17Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
- Num 14:28–30Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:
- 2 Chr 7:22And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them.
- Ps 95:11Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.
- Mic 3:12Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.
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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 22:5 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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