Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!
They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! Ah sister! - Addressing him with such titles of affection as one would address to a deceased friend beloved as a brother or sister (cf. 1 Kings 13:30). This expresses, They shall not lament him with the lamentation of private individuals (Vatablus), or of blood-relatives (Grotius): as "Ah! lord," expresses public lamentation in the case of a king (Vatablus), or that of subjects (Grotius). Henderson thinks "Ah! sister" refers to Jehoiakim's queen, who, though taken to Babylon, and not left unburied on the way, as Jehoiakim, yet was not honoured at her death with royal lamentations, such as would have been poured forth over her at Jerusalem. He notices the beauty of Jeremiah's manner in his prophecy against Jehoiakim. In Jeremiah 22:13-14 he describes him in general terms; then, in Jeremiah 22:15-17 he directly addresses him without naming him; at last in Jeremiah 22:18 he names him, but in third person, to imply that God puts him to a distance from him. The boldness of the Hebrew prophets proves their divine mission: were it not so, their reproofs to the Hebrew kings, who held the throne by divine authority, would have been treason.
Ah his glory! - `Alas! his majesty,'