And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.

JEREMIAH 22:7KJV
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Jeremiah 22:7 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 22:7 mean?

Jeremiah 22:7 presents God’s warning that the royal house of Judah will face destruction. God says he will send armed destroyers against it, and even its finest cedar wood will be cut down and burned.

The “choice cedars” picture the prized wood used in the royal buildings. After the address to the house of Judah’s king in verse 6, the image makes the loss concrete: the costly building will become fuel for a fire.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 22:7

  • “prepare” — קָדַשׁ (qadash): This word can mean to set apart or dedicate. Here, it presents the destroyers as appointed for a particular task.
  • “choice” — מִבְחָר (mivchar): This word means the best or finest part of something. It draws attention to the quality of the cedar that will be destroyed.

Why Jeremiah 22:7 matters

  • The warning concerns more than ordinary timber. Jeremiah 22:6 addresses the king of Judah’s house, so the destruction of its cedar speaks of damage to a royal building.
  • The destroyers act under God’s direction in the verse. The words “I will prepare destroyers” present their attack as part of the warning God gives through Jeremiah.
  • The surrounding passage connects the fate of the royal house with the conduct of its rulers. In verses 3–5, the king is told to do what is just and right, and the warning follows a refusal to listen.

Where else these words appear

“choice” Hebrew H4005 · used in 12 verses

  • Genesis 23:6 Hear us, my lord: thou art a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead; none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead.
  • Isaiah 22:7 And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.
  • Ezekiel 24:4 Gather the pieces thereof into it, even every good piece, the thigh, and the shoulder; fill it with the choice bones.

“cedars” Hebrew H730 · used in 69 verses

  • Leviticus 14:4 Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:
  • 1 Kings 7:2 He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars.
  • Psalms 104:16 The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted;

“destroyers” Hebrew H7843 · used in 136 verses

  • Genesis 6:11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
  • 2 Samuel 1:14 And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD'S anointed?
  • Jeremiah 5:10 Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD'S.