Jeremiah 22:5

22:5 But, if you do not obey these commands, I solemnly swear 1  that this palace will become a pile of rubble. I, the Lord, affirm it!” 2 

Jeremiah 27:17

27:17 Do not listen to them. Be subject to the king of Babylon. Then you 3  will continue to live. Why should this city be made a pile of rubble?’” 4 

1 sn Heb “I swear by myself.” Oaths were guaranteed by invoking the name of a god or swearing by “his life.” See Jer 12:16; 44:26. Since the Lord is incomparably great, he could swear by no higher (see Heb 6:13-16) than to swear by himself or his own great name.

2 tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

3 tn The imperative with vav (ו) here and in v. 12 after another imperative are a good example of the use of the imperative to introduce a consequence. (See GKC 324-25 §110.f and see Gen 42:18. This is a common verb in this idiom.)

4 tn According to E. W. Bullinger (Figures of Speech, 954) both this question and the one in v. 13 are examples of rhetorical questions of prohibition / “don’t let this city be made a pile of rubble.”