Jeremiah 22:13

11 For this is what the LORD says concerning Shallum son of Josiah, king of Judah, who succeeded his father Josiah but has gone forth from this place: “He will never return,

12 but he will die in the place to which he was exiled; he will never see this land again.”

“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms without justice, who makes his countrymen serve without pay, and fails to pay their wages,

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.

15 Does it make you a king to excel in cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He administered justice and righteousness, and so it went well with him.

Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms without justice, who makes his countrymen serve without pay, and fails to pay their wages,
KJV
Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;
WEB
“Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his rooms by injustice; who uses his neighbor’s service without wages, and doesn’t give him his hire;
ASV
Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by injustice; that useth his neighbor`s service without wages, and giveth him not his hire;
DARBY
Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his upper chambers by injustice; that taketh his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not his earning;
BLB
“Woe [to] the one building his house by unrighteousness and his chambers by injustice, [who] by his neighbor gains service for nothing and for his work gives nothing to him,
ÅB
Ve ham som bygger sitt hus med urettferdighet og sine saler med urett, som lar sin neste slave for intet og ikke gir ham hans lønn,
OTB
“Ve ham som bygger sitt hus med urettferdighet, og sine øvre rom med urett, som får sin nabo til å arbeide for ingenting, uten å betale ham for hans arbeid.
B1930
Ve ham som bygger sitt hus med urettferdighet og sine saler med urett, som lar sin næste træle for intet og ikke gir ham hans lønn,

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • James 5:4

    Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.

    Read in context
  • Micah 3:10

    who build Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with iniquity.

    Read in context
  • Leviticus 19:13

    You must not defraud your neighbor or rob him. You must not withhold until morning the wages due a hired hand.

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  • Malachi 3:5

    “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.

    Read in context
  • Deuteronomy 24:14–15

    Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether he is a brother or a foreigner residing in one of your towns.

    Read in context
  • Habakkuk 2:9–11

    Woe to him who builds his house by unjust gain, to place his nest on high and escape the hand of disaster!

    Read in context
  • Jeremiah 22:18

    Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: “They will not mourn for him: ‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’ They will not mourn for him: ‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’

    Read in context
  • 2 Chronicles 36:4

    Then Neco king of Egypt made Eliakim brother of Jehoahaz king over Judah and Jerusalem, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Eliakim’s brother Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt.

    Read in context