Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!
Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness - i:e., a covetousness so surpassingly evil as to be fatal to himself. To his house - greedily seizing enormous wealth, not merely for himself, but for his family, to which it is destined to be fatal. The very same "evil covetousness" that was the cause of Jehoiakim's being given up to the Chaldean oppressor (Jeremiah 22:13, "Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong," etc.; Jeremiah 22:17, "Thine eyes, and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness") shall be the cause of the Chaldean's own destruction.
That he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil - (Numbers 24:21, "Thou (the Kenite) puttest thy nest in a rock;" Jeremiah 49:16; Obadiah 1:4, "Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord"). The image is from an eagle (Job 39:27). The royal citadel is meant. The Chaldean built high towers, like the Babel-founders, to "be delivered from the power of evil" (Genesis 11:4).