Jeremiah 22
Lexham English Bible
22 Thus says Yahweh: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and you must speak this word there. 2 And you must say, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people who enter through these gates. 3 Thus says Yahweh, “Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been seized from the hand of the oppressor. And you must not oppress the immigrant, the orphan, and the widow. And you must not shed innocent blood in this place. 4 And if you indeed obey this word, then kings who sit for David on his throne will enter through the gates of this house, riding in chariots[a] and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people. 5 But if you do not obey these words, I swear by myself,” declares[b] Yahweh, “that this house will become a site of ruins.”’”
6 For thus says Yahweh concerning the house of the king of Judah,
“You are like Gilead to me,
like the head of the Lebanon.
Surely[c] I will make you a desert,[d]
like cities that are not inhabited.
7 And I will consecrate against you destroyers,
everyone with his weapons,
and they will cut down your choicest cedars,[e]
and cast them[f] on the fire.
8 And many nations will pass by this city and they will say each one to his neighbor, ‘Why[g] has Yahweh done in this manner to this great city?’ 9 Then they will answer, ‘Because they abandoned the covenant of Yahweh their God, and bowed down in worship to other gods, and served them.’”
10 You must not weep for the dead person,
and you must not show sympathy for him.
Weep bitterly for the one who goes away,
for he will not return, or see the land of his birth again.
11 For thus says Yahweh concerning Shallum, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, who reigned as king in place of Josiah his father, who went out from this place: “He will not return here again. 12 But in the place where they have deported him, there he will die, and he will not see this land again.
13 Woe to the one who builds his house without righteousness,
and his upper rooms without justice.
His fellow countryman, he works for nothing,
and he does not give to him his wages.[h]
14 Who says ‘I will build for myself
a spacious house with large upper rooms,’
and he cuts windows for it,
and it is[i] paneled with cedar,
and he paints it[j] with vermilion.
15 Do you reign as king because you are competing in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink,
and he did justice and righteousness,
then it was well with him?
16 He judged the legal cause of the needy and the poor,
and then it was well.
Is that not what it means to know me?[k]” declares[l] Yahweh.
17 “But there is nothing in your eyes and your heart
except[m] your unlawful gain,
and on shedding the blood of the innocent,
and on committing oppression and extortion.”
18 Therefore[n] thus says Yahweh concerning Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah:
“They will not lament for him,
‘Alas, my brother,’ or ‘Alas, sister.’
They will not lament for him,
‘Alas, lord,’ or ‘alas, his majesty.’
19 He will be buried with the burial of a donkey.
He will be[o] dragged away and thrown outside[p] the gates of Jerusalem.
20 Go up to Lebanon and cry out,
and in Bashan lift up your voice,
and cry out from Abarim,
for all your lovers are shattered.
21 I spoke to you in the times you were secure,[q]
and you said, ‘I will not listen!’
This was your way from your youth,
for you have not obeyed my voice.
22 All your shepherds will shepherd the wind,
and your lovers will go into captivity.
Yes, then you will be ashamed and humiliated
because of all your wickedness.
23 Inhabitants[r] of Lebanon,
nestled among the cedars,
how you will groan when labor pains come to you,
fear and pain as the woman who gives birth.
24 “As I live,” declares[s] Yahweh, “surely if Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, were the seal on my right hand, surely from there I would wrench you off. 25 And I would give you into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of those from whom you are frightened by their presence, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 And I will throw you and your mother who gave birth to you to another country where you were not born, and there you will die. 27 As for the land to which they are longing[t] to return, they will not return.
28 Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered vessel?
Or a vessel in which there is no delight?
Why are he and his offspring thrown far,
and cast away to the land that they do not know?”
29 O land, land, land, hear the word of Yahweh. 30 Thus says Yahweh:
“Record this man as childless,
a man who will not succeed in his days,
for no man from his offspring will succeed him,[u]
sitting on the throne of David and ruling again in Judah.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 22:4 Hebrew “chariot”
- Jeremiah 22:5 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 22:6 Literally “If not”
- Jeremiah 22:6 Or “wilderness”
- Jeremiah 22:7 Literally “the choicest thing of your cedars”
- Jeremiah 22:7 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Jeremiah 22:8 Literally “Over what”
- Jeremiah 22:13 Hebrew “wage”
- Jeremiah 22:14 Here the subject is supplied from context in the English translation
- Jeremiah 22:14 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Jeremiah 22:16 Literally “Not that the knowledge me”
- Jeremiah 22:16 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 22:17 Literally “but if”
- Jeremiah 22:18 Literally “To thus”
- Jeremiah 22:19 Here the subject is supplied from context in the English translation
- Jeremiah 22:19 Literally “from beyond”
- Jeremiah 22:21 Literally “in your security”
- Jeremiah 22:23 Hebrew “Inhabitant”
- Jeremiah 22:24 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 22:27 Literally “lifting their inner self”
- Jeremiah 22:30 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
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:
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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.