Jeremiah 22
Christian Standard Bible
Judgment against Sinful Kings
22 This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and announce this word there. 2 You are to say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David(A)—you, your officers, and your people who enter these gates. 3 This is what the Lord says: Administer justice and righteousness.(B) Rescue the victim of robbery from his oppressor.(C) Don’t exploit or brutalize the resident alien, the fatherless, or the widow.(D) Don’t shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you conscientiously carry out this word, then kings sitting on David’s throne will enter through the gates of this palace(E) riding on chariots and horses—they, their officers, and their people. 5 But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by myself(F)—this is the Lord’s declaration—that this house will become a ruin.’”(G)
6 For this is what the Lord says concerning the house of the king of Judah:
“You are like Gilead(H) to me,
or the summit of Lebanon,
but I will certainly turn you into a wilderness,
uninhabited cities.
7 I will set apart destroyers(I) against you,
each with his weapons.
They will cut down the choicest of your cedars
and throw them into the fire.
8 “Many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why did the Lord do such a thing to this great city?’ 9 They will answer, ‘Because they abandoned the covenant(J) of the Lord their God and bowed in worship to other gods and served them.’”(K)
A Message concerning Shallum
10 Do not weep for the dead;
do not mourn for him.
Weep bitterly for the one who has gone away,
for he will never return again
and see his native land.(L)
11 For this is what the Lord says concerning Shallum(M) son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in place of his father Josiah, and who has left this place: “He will never return here again, 12 but he will die in the place where they deported him, never seeing this land again.”
A Message concerning Jehoiakim
13 Woe for the one who builds his palace
through unrighteousness,(N)
his upstairs rooms through injustice,
who makes his neighbor serve without pay
and will not give him his wages,(O)
14 who says, “I will build myself a massive palace,
with spacious upstairs rooms.”
He will cut windows[a] in it,
and it will be paneled with cedar(P)
and painted bright red.
15 Are you a king because you excel in cedar?
Didn’t your father eat and drink
and administer justice and righteousness?(Q)
Then it went well with him.
16 He took up the case of the poor and needy;(R)
then it went well.
Is this not what it means to know me?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
17 But you have eyes and a heart for nothing
except your own dishonest profit,
shedding innocent blood
and committing extortion and oppression.(S)
18 Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning Jehoiakim(T) son of Josiah, king of Judah:
They will not mourn for him, saying,
“Woe, my brother!” or “Woe, my sister!”
They will not mourn for him, saying,
“Woe, lord! Woe, his majesty!”
19 He will be buried like a donkey,(U)
dragged off and thrown
outside Jerusalem’s gates.
20 Go up to Lebanon and cry out;
raise your voice in Bashan;
cry out from Abarim,(V)
for all your lovers[b] have been crushed.(W)
21 I spoke to you when you were secure.
You said, “I will not listen.”
This has been your way since youth;(X)
indeed, you have never listened to me.
22 The wind will take charge of[c] all your shepherds,
and your lovers will go into captivity.
Then you will be ashamed and humiliated(Y)
because of all your evil.
23 You residents of Lebanon,
nestled among the cedars,
how you will groan[d] when pains come on you,
agony like a woman in labor.(Z)
A Message concerning Coniah
24 “As I live”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“though you, Coniah[e](AA) son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, were a signet ring(AB) on my right hand, I would tear you from it. 25 In fact, I will hand you over to those you dread,(AC) who intend to take your life, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Chaldeans. 26 I will hurl you and the mother who gave birth(AD) to you into another land,(AE) where neither of you were born, and there you will both die. 27 They will never return to the land they long to return to.”
28 Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered pot,(AF)
a jar no one wants?
Why are he and his descendants hurled out
and cast into a land they have not known?
29 Earth, earth, earth,
hear the word of the Lord!
30 This is what the Lord says:
Jeremiah 22
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Exhortation to Repent
22 Thus says the Lord: Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,(A) 2 and say: Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah sitting on the throne of David—you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates.(B) 3 Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place.(C) 4 For if you will indeed obey this word, then through the gates of this house shall enter kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses—they, their servants, and their people. 5 But if you will not heed these words, I swear by myself, says the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.(D) 6 For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah:
You are like Gilead to me,
like the summit of Lebanon,
but I swear that I will make you a desert,
uninhabited cities.(E)
7 I will prepare destroyers against you,
all with their weapons;
they shall cut down your choicest cedars
and cast them into the fire.(F)
8 And many nations will pass by this city, and all of them will say one to another, “Why has the Lord dealt in this way with that great city?”(G) 9 And they will answer, “Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord their God and worshiped other gods and served them.”(H)
10 Do not weep for him who is dead,
nor bemoan him;
weep rather for him who goes away,
for he shall return no more
to see his native land.(I)
Message to the Sons of Josiah
11 For thus says the Lord concerning Shallum son of King Josiah of Judah, who succeeded his father Josiah and who went away from this place: He shall return here no more, 12 but in the place where they have carried him captive he shall die, and he shall never see this land again.
13 Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness
and his upper rooms by injustice,
who makes his neighbors work for nothing
and does not give them their wages,(J)
14 who says, “I will build myself a spacious house
with large upper rooms,”
and who cuts out windows[a] for it,
paneling it with cedar
and painting it with vermilion.(K)
15 Are you a king
because you compete in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink
and do justice and righteousness?
Then it was well with him.(L)
16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy;
then it was well.
Is not this to know me?
says the Lord.(M)
17 But your eyes and heart
are only on your dishonest gain,
for shedding innocent blood,
and for practicing oppression and violence.(N)
18 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah:
They shall not lament for him, saying,
“Alas, my brother!” or “Alas, sister!”
They shall not lament for him, saying,
“Alas, lord!” or “Alas, his majesty!”(O)
19 With the burial of a donkey he shall be buried:
dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.(P)
20 Go up to Lebanon and cry out,
and lift up your voice in Bashan;
cry out from Abarim,
for all your lovers are crushed.(Q)
21 I spoke to you in your prosperity,
but you said, “I will not listen.”
This has been your way from your youth,
for you have not obeyed my voice.(R)
22 The wind shall shepherd all your shepherds,
and your lovers shall go into captivity;
then you will be ashamed and dismayed
because of all your wickedness.(S)
23 O inhabitant of Lebanon,
nested among the cedars,
how you will groan[b] when pangs come upon you,
pain as of a woman in labor!
Judgment on Coniah (Jehoiachin)
24 As I live, says the Lord, even if King Coniah son of Jehoiakim of Judah were the signet ring on my right hand, even from there I would tear you off(T) 25 and give you into the hands of those who seek your life, into the hands of those whom you fear, even into the hands of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon and into the hands of the Chaldeans.(U) 26 I will hurl you and the mother who bore you into another country, where you were not born, and there you shall die.(V) 27 But they shall not return to the land to which they long to return.
28 Is this man Coniah a despised broken pot,
a vessel no one wants?
Why are he and his offspring hurled out
and cast away in a land that they do not know?
29 O land, land, land,
hear the word of the Lord!(W)
30 Thus says the Lord:
Record this man as childless,
a man who shall not succeed in his days,
for none of his offspring shall succeed
in sitting on the throne of David
and ruling again in Judah.(X)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.