This section contains two prophecies about this king (vv. 24-27 and 28-30) The historical setting is the three-month reign of eighteen year-old Jehoiachin in 598-597 B.C. (cf. 2 Kings 24:8-17). Coniah was a shortened form of Jehoiachin (cf. 37:10), and another form is Jeconiah (cf. 24:1; 27:20; 28:4; 29:2).
22:24 The Lord affirmed that even if Coniah (Jehoiachin) was the signet ring on His hand He would still remove him. The signet ring of a king was something a king did not part with because it was the instrument with which he conducted business and manifested his authority.
22:25 Yahweh was going to give Coniah over to King Nebuchadnezzar. The transfer of the signet ring symbolized the transfer of authority. Now Babylon would control the affairs of Judah.
22:26-27 But Yahweh would not reluctantly hand over Coniah; He would hurl him into a foreign country where he would die. His mother, the powerful queen mother, Nehushta, would go with him (cf. 13:18; 2 Kings 24:8, 11-12). They would not be able to return to their native land (cf. 52:31-34; 2 Kings 25:27-30). Mordecai and Ezekiel traveled to Babylon in the same group of exiles (Esth. 2:5-7; Ezek. 1:1-2).
22:28 Why would Yahweh treat Coniah like a piece of broken pottery that people tossed on the garbage heap? The answer, not given, is that he proved to be an unfaithful servant of the Lord, a covenant-breaker (cf. 19:1-13).
22:29 Jeremiah called on the land of Judah to hear a very important prophecy from Yahweh. The threefold repetition of "land"indicates how important it was for the people of the land to listen.
22:30 The Lord promised that none of Coniah's sons would sit on Judah's throne. It was a shame and a disgrace for a king to have no son to succeed him. Coniah had seven sons (1 Chron. 3:17-18; Matt. 1:12), but none of them ruled as Davidic kings.312
