Jeremiah 22:14

who says, ‘I will build myself a great palace, with spacious upper rooms.’ So he cuts windows in it, panels it with cedar, and paints it with vermilion.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The prophet Jeremiah pronounces a woe against a Judahite king who boasts of constructing a lavish residence while exploiting his laborers (Jeremiah 22:13–14). The speech occurs during a period of royal corruption and impending divine judgment.

The words — The Hebrew הָאֹמֵר (ha’omer) identifies the subject as "the one who says," while אֶבְנֶה בֵּית מִדּוֹת (evneh beit midot) literally renders "I will build a house of size[s]." מְרֻוּחִים (meruḥim) denotes "spacious" upper rooms, and וְקָרַע חַלּוֹנַי (veqara‘ ḥal·lōnay) describes cutting or tearing open windows.

The thread — The boast of cedar-paneled luxury echoes David’s comparison of his cedar house to God’s tent (2 Samuel 7:2) and Isaiah’s warning against monopolizing land with endless expansions (Isaiah 5:8). Haggai later condemns the same architectural pride while God’s temple remains in ruins (Haggai 1:4).

Why it lands — The text records the king’s explicit declaration of self-exalting construction before listing the labor-intensive methods used to achieve it. It demands that a reader assess whether architectural ambition masks exploitation and replaces reliance on justice with reliance on wealth.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

הָאֹמֵ֗רha./'o.Merthe/ [one who] says אֶבְנֶה־'ev.neh-I will buildלִּי֙l/ifor <the>/ myselfבֵּ֣יתbeita house of מִדּ֔וֹתmi.Dotsize<s>וַעֲלִיּ֖וֹתva./'a.li.Yotand/ upper rooms מְרֻוָּחִ֑יםme.ru.va.Chimspacious וְקָ֤רַֽעve./Ka.ra'and/ he will tearלוֹ֙l/ofor <the>/ himselfחַלּוֹנָ֔יcha.lo.Na/iwindows/ my וְסָפ֣וּןve./sa.Funand/ paneled בָּאָ֔רֶזba./'A.rezwith <the>/ cedar וּמָשׁ֖וֹחַu./ma.Sho.achand/ he will smear [it]בַּשָּׁשַֽׁר׃ba./sha.Sharwith <the>/ vermilion

King James Version

That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion.

Cross-references

2 Samuel 7:2 he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”
Isaiah 5:8 Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field until no place is left and you live alone in the land.
Haggai 1:4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?”
2 Chronicles 3:5 He paneled the main room with cypress, which he overlaid with fine gold and decorated with palm trees and chains.
Proverbs 17:19 He who loves transgression loves strife; he who builds his gate high invites destruction.
Proverbs 24:27 Complete your outdoor work and prepare your field; after that, you may build your house.
Song of Solomon 1:17 The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are fragrant firs.
Isaiah 9:9 All the people will know it—Ephraim and the dwellers of Samaria. With pride and arrogance of heart they will say:
Daniel 4:30 the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?”
Malachi 1:4 Though Edom may say, “We have been devastated, but we will rebuild the ruins,” this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Land of Wickedness, and a people with whom the LORD is indignant forever.