Jeremiah 22:17 · Bible study
Jeremiah 22:17 Commentary: Total Corruption of a Greedy King
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Jeremiah exposes Jehoiakim's covetousness and violence. A study on the Hebrew words, context, and how greed leads to oppression.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Jehoiakim’s entire being is consumed with dishonest gain, which drives him to murder and oppression.
- Key words: “eyes and heart” (total orientation), “covetousness” (בצע, dishonest profit), “innocent blood” (judicial murder), “oppression” (עשק) and “violence” (מרוצה, extortion and crushing).
- Main debate: Whether בצע means general greed or specific dishonest gain; translations vary, but the word often carries a nuance of violent profit.
- Theological theme: Greed as the root of violence; knowing God is inseparable from doing justice.
- Best use: A prophetic call to examine what we fix our hearts on, and to see the link between economic injustice and harm toward others.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
“But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression.”
WEB World English Bible 2000
But your eyes and your heart are only for your covetousness, for shedding innocent blood, for oppression, and for doing violence.”
KJV King James Version 1769
But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
But thine eyes and thy heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for shedding innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
But thine eyes and thy heart are not, Except on thy dishonest gain, And on shedding of innocent blood, And on oppression, and on doing of violence.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
But thine eyes and thy heart are only on thine extortion, and on the blood of the innocent, to shed it, and on oppression and on violence, to do it.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
But thy eyes and thy heart are set upon covetousness, and upon shedding innocent blood, and upon oppression, and running after evil works.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Mas tus ojos y tu corazón no son sino á tu avaricia, y á derramar la sangre inocente, y á opresión, y á hacer agravio.
Mas teus olhos e teu coração não são para outra coisa , a não ser para tua ganância, para derramar sangue inocente, e para praticar opressão e violência.
Mais tu n’ as des yeux et un cœur
Aber deine Augen und dein Herz stehen nicht also, sondern auf deinen Geiz, auf unschuldig Blut zu vergießen, zu freveln und unterzustoßen.
Maar uw ogen en uw hart zijn niet dan op uw gierigheid, en op onschuldig bloed, om dat te vergieten, en op verdrukking en overlast, om die te doen.
Ma tu non hai occhi né cuore che per la tua cupidigia, per spargere sangue innocente, e per fare oppressione e violenza.
Ale oczy twoje i serce twoje nie szuka jedno łakomstwa swego, i abyś krew niewinną wylewał, a gwałt i krzywdę czynił.
Но твои глаза и твое сердце обращены только к твоей корысти и к пролитию невинной крови, к тому, чтобы делать притеснение и насилие.
惟有 你的眼 和你的心 專 顧 貪婪， 流 無辜人 的血，行 欺壓 和 強暴。
But your eyes and your heart are fixed only on profit for yourself, on causing the death of him who has done no wrong, and on violent and cruel acts.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Jeremiah 22:17
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this verse describes Jehoiakim’s complete moral orientation. Calvin notes that “eye and heart” cover everything external and internal, all bodily senses, thoughts, feelings, and designs. Gill and Barnes point out that the word for covetousness, betso (בצע), means dishonest gain or plunder, not ordinary desire. The Cambridge Bible renders it “dishonest gain.” The sequence is deliberate: covetousness drives the shedding of innocent blood and then oppression and violence. Barnes suggests the king used pretexts to kill people and seize their property. All see the sharp contrast with Josiah, who did justice (v. 15-16). The verse is not just a list of sins; it names the engine behind them.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The verse condemns Jehoiakim for a life wholly oriented toward dishonest gain, which leads to killing the innocent and oppressing the weak.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of 'covetousness' (בצע) | The word implies unjust gain, profit taken by violence or fraud. | Some translations render it as general greed (KJV), while others specify 'dishonest gain' (BSB, Cambridge mg). The lexical range includes both, but the context of bloodshed favors a specific sense. |
| Scope of 'eyes and heart' | The phrase refers to the whole person, internal desires and external actions. | No significant debate; Calvin's reading (all faculties of soul and body) is widely accepted. |
| Connection to innocent blood | Covetousness led Jehoiakim to murder innocent people to seize their property. | Some emphasize judicial murder (Barnes), while others see a more general pattern of violent oppression (Calvin). Both are present in the text. |
| Contrast with Josiah | Josiah's reign of justice is the foil; Jehoiakim's greed is the opposite. | All commentators agree on the contrast; no debate. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Jeremiah 22:17 belongs to a woe oracle against King Jehoiakim (609, 598 BC). The surrounding verses (13, 14) accuse him of building his palace with forced, unpaid labor, an act that violated Deuteronomic law (Deuteronomy 24:14, 15). Jehoiakim was a vassal first of Egypt, then of Babylon, but he taxed his people heavily to fund extravagant building projects. The phrase “your eyes and your heart” is a Hebrew idiom for a person’s entire inner life and outward attention. Calvin says it means “all the faculties of his soul and body.”
The accusation of shedding innocent blood likely refers to judicial murder: Jehoiakim condemned people to death in order to confiscate their land and wealth, a pattern long associated with Ahab and Naboth (1 Kings 21). The words “oppression” (oshek) and “violence” (merutzah) describe extortion and crushing force. This king refused to know Yahweh in the practical sense his father Josiah had (v. 16). The historical record in 2 Kings 24:4 confirms that he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Jeremiah 22:17. Some English translations render the double negative differently (e.g., KJV “not but for”), but the Hebrew is clear: ein … ki im (“there is nothing except”). The meaning is unambiguous.
Reception History
In the Reformation, Calvin used this verse to warn rulers that God sees the heart behind public projects. The verse has been cited in Christian social teaching to condemn exploiting the poor and perverting justice. Jewish commentators like Rashi read it as a direct indictment of Jehoiakim’s character, linking the “eye and heart” to the commandment against coveting (Exodus 20:17). The verse continues to function as a sobering reminder that the love of money can crush the most vulnerable.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The root: covetousness as dishonest gain. The Hebrew word betso implies profit taken by violence. Jehoiakim’s heart was set on what he could take, not what was right.
- The reach: from greed to bloodshed. Covetousness never stays in the heart. It drives the hands to oppress and even kill. The sequence “shedding innocent blood ... oppression ... violence” shows how one sin breeds others.
- The ruin: a king left unwept. The next verses (18, 19) announce Jehoiakim will be buried like a donkey, dishonored and forgotten. What a man lives for, he dies for.
Five-point outline
- A king who builds on injustice (v. 13, 14)
- The father who knew better (v. 15, 16)
- The son who knows only greed (v. 17)
- The exposure of the whole person (“eyes and heart”)
- The wages: a disgraceful end (v. 18, 19)
Illustration hooks
- A news story about a corporate executive who knowingly sells unsafe products to maximize profit. The desire for gain overrides concern for human life.
- The image of a “trophy” house built with money cheated from workers. Many recognize the immorality of unpaid labor, yet the verse connects it directly to bloodshed.
- A parking lot dispute that escalates into violence. Greed may start small, but it can lead far beyond what we expect.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does God really care about my private ambition as long as I don’t hurt anyone?
- How can I tell if my desire for success has crossed into covetousness?
- What does it mean to “know” God in the practical way Josiah did?
Leading a Discussion
Jeremiah 22:17 names the hidden connection between greed and violence. In a culture that often separates “spiritual” sins from “social” sins, this verse forces us to see how the heart’s desires shape our treatment of others.
Discussion questions
- What does this verse say Jehoiakim’s “eyes and heart” were set on? Make a list from the text.
- Why do you think the prophet begins with covetousness before mentioning bloodshed and oppression? What does that order tell us?
- How does the description of Josiah in verses 15, 16 contrast with Jehoiakim? What does “knowing the Lord” look like in practice?
- In what contemporary settings do we see the same pattern, a desire for gain that leads to harming others?
- This verse implies that what we fix our eyes and heart on determines our actions. How can you examine what your own heart is set on?
- The passage ends with Jehoiakim losing everything (v. 18, 19). How does that shape your view of Jesus’ teaching, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21)?
- What would it look like for a community to “know the Lord” in a way that prevents injustice and protects the poor?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 18:21 | Moreover you shall provide out of all the people able men which fear God: men of truth, hating unjust gain; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. |
| Joshua 7:21 | When I saw among the plunder a beautiful Babylonian robe, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, then I coveted them and took them. Behold, they are hidden in the ground in the middle of my tent, with the silver under it.” |
| I Kings 21:19 | You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Yahweh says, “Have you killed and also taken possession?”’ You shall speak to him, saying, ‘Yahweh says, “In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs will lick your blood, even yours.”’” |
| II Kings 24:4 | and also for the innocent blood that he shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and Yahweh would not pardon. |
| II Chronicles 36:8 | Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his abominations which he did, and that which was found in him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah; and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. |
| Job 31:7 | if my step has turned out of the way, if my heart walked after my eyes, if any defilement has stuck to my hands, |
| Psalms 10:3 | For the wicked boasts of his heart’s cravings. He blesses the greedy and condemns Yahweh. |
| Psalms 119:36 | Turn my heart toward your statutes, not toward selfish gain. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes notes that the Hebrew word behind covetousness literally means gain. He observes that Jehoiakim went beyond forced labor: he put innocent people to death under various pretexts and confiscated their property to fund his enormous expenses.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin breaks down the Hebrew words in the verse to show that Jehoiakim's corruption was total, covering every sense and thought. Unlike his father Josiah, who pursued justice, Jehoiakim gave himself entirely to covetousness, cruelty, and violent oppression. The prophet's phrasing means he was depraved inside and out.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
covetousness ] better as mg. dishonest gain . Jehoiakim “remained fixed in the recollections of his countrymen, as the last example of those cruel, selfish, luxurious princes, the natural product of Oriental monarchies, the disgrace of the monarchy of David.” (Stanley, J. Ch . II. 448.)
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note stresses that the king's entire attention and inner drive are single-mindedly fixed on covetousness, bloodshed, oppression, and ruin. The phrase "but only for" underscores how these wicked pursuits fully occupy what should be directed toward justice and righteousness.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill sees the accusation as pinpointing the full direction of the king's inner life: his eyes and heart have no other aim but to satisfy greed. This covetousness drives him to shed innocent blood and commit violent oppression to seize what belongs to others, proving that love of money is the root of all evil.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
thine —as opposed to thy father, Josiah.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch argue that true kingship is not about building lavish palaces but administering justice. They correct a misconception: the Hebrew question does not ask whether Jehoiakim will reign long, but whether he thinks he is a king at all when his focus is only on cedar buildings. Knowing God, they insist, means practical righteousness, especially justice for the poor.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange contrasts Jehoiakim's trust in cedar palaces with Josiah's foundation of justice: a kingdom rests on righteousness, not architecture. The prophecy's fulfillment came when Jehoiakim died on the way to Babylon, his corpse dragged and cast out like an ass, denied proper burial.