Warning of Jerusalem’s Fall

22 This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and there speak this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who (A)sits on David’s throne, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates. This is what the Lord says: “(B)Do justice and righteousness, and save one who has been robbed from the power of his (C)oppressor. And (D)do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not (E)shed innocent blood in this place. For if you will indeed perform this [a]instruction, then (F)kings will enter the gates of this house, sitting [b]in David’s place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, the king himself, his servants, and his people. (G)But if you will not obey these words, I (H)swear by Myself,” declares the Lord, “that this house will become a place of ruins.”’” For this is what the Lord says concerning the house of the king of Judah:

“You are like (I)Gilead to Me,
Like the summit of Lebanon;
Yet most assuredly I will make you a (J)wilderness,
Cities that are not inhabited.
For I will set apart (K)destroyers against you,
Each with his weapons;
And they will (L)cut down your choicest cedars
And (M)throw them on the fire.

“Many nations will pass by this city; and they will (N)say to one another, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this great city?’ Then they will [c]answer, ‘Because they (O)abandoned the covenant of the Lord their God and bowed down to other gods and served them.’”

10 (P)Do not weep for the dead or mourn for him,
But weep deeply for the one who goes away;
For (Q)he will never return
Or see his native land.

11 For this is what the Lord says regarding [d](R)Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in the place of his father Josiah, who went out from this place: “He will never return there; 12 but in the place where they took him into exile, there he will (S)die and he will not see this land again.

Messages about the Kings

13 “Woe to him who builds his house (T)without righteousness,
And his upstairs rooms without justice,
Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay
And (U)does not give him his wages,
14 Who says, ‘I will (V)build myself a large house
With spacious upstairs rooms,
And cut out its windows,
[e]Paneling it with (W)cedar and painting it [f]bright red.’
15 Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar?
Did your father not eat and drink
And (X)do justice and righteousness?
Then it was (Y)well for him.
16 He pled the cause of the (Z)afflicted and the poor,
Then it was well.
(AA)Is that not what it means to know Me?”
Declares the Lord.
17 “But your eyes and your heart
Are intent only upon your own (AB)dishonest gain,
And on (AC)shedding innocent blood,
And on practicing oppression and extortion.”

18 Therefore this is what the Lord says regarding (AD)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

“They will not (AE)mourn for him:
(AF)Oh, my brother!’ or, ‘Oh, sister!’
They will not mourn for him:
‘Oh, for the master!’ or, ‘Oh, for his splendor!’
19 He will be (AG)buried with a donkey’s burial,
Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20 Go up to Lebanon and cry out,
And raise your voice in Bashan;
Cry out also from (AH)Abarim,
For all your (AI)lovers have been crushed.
21 I spoke to you in your prosperity;
But (AJ)you said, ‘I will not listen!’
(AK)This has been your way (AL)from your youth,
That you have not obeyed My voice.
22 The wind will sweep away all your (AM)shepherds,
And your (AN)lovers will go into captivity;
Then you will certainly be (AO)ashamed and humiliated
Because of all your wickedness.
23 You who live in Lebanon,
Nested in the cedars,
How you will groan when sharp pains come on you,
(AP)Pain like a woman in childbirth!

24 “As I live,” declares the Lord, “even if [g](AQ)Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a (AR)signet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull [h]you [i]off; 25 and I will (AS)hand you over to those who are seeking your life, yes, to those of whom you are frightened, that is, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Chaldeans. 26 I will (AT)hurl you and your (AU)mother who gave birth to you into another country where you were not born, and there you will die. 27 But as for the land to which they long to return, they will not return to it.

28 Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered jar?
Or is he an (AV)undesirable vessel?
Why have he and his descendants been (AW)hurled out
And cast into a (AX)land that they had not known?
29 (AY)O land, land, land,
Hear the word of the Lord!

30 This is what the Lord says:

‘Write this man down as (AZ)childless,
A man who will (BA)not prosper in his days;
For no man among his (BB)descendants will prosper
Sitting on the throne of David
Or ruling again in Judah.’”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 22:4 Lit word
  2. Jeremiah 22:4 Lit for David
  3. Jeremiah 22:9 Lit say
  4. Jeremiah 22:11 I.e., Jehoahaz
  5. Jeremiah 22:14 Or Paneled
  6. Jeremiah 22:14 Or vermilion
  7. Jeremiah 22:24 I.e., Jehoiachin
  8. Jeremiah 22:24 I.e., Jehoiachin
  9. Jeremiah 22:24 Lit off from there

22 Thus says Yahweh: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and you must speak this word there. 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. 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. 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. But if you do not obey these words, I swear by myself,” declares[b] Yahweh, “that this house will become a site of ruins.”’”

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.
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.

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?’ 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

  1. Jeremiah 22:4 Hebrew “chariot”
  2. Jeremiah 22:5 Literally “a declaration of”
  3. Jeremiah 22:6 Literally “If not”
  4. Jeremiah 22:6 Or “wilderness”
  5. Jeremiah 22:7 Literally “the choicest thing of your cedars”
  6. Jeremiah 22:7 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  7. Jeremiah 22:8 Literally “Over what”
  8. Jeremiah 22:13 Hebrew “wage”
  9. Jeremiah 22:14 Here the subject is supplied from context in the English translation
  10. Jeremiah 22:14 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  11. Jeremiah 22:16 Literally “Not that the knowledge me”
  12. Jeremiah 22:16 Literally “a declaration of”
  13. Jeremiah 22:17 Literally “but if”
  14. Jeremiah 22:18 Literally “To thus”
  15. Jeremiah 22:19 Here the subject is supplied from context in the English translation
  16. Jeremiah 22:19 Literally “from beyond”
  17. Jeremiah 22:21 Literally “in your security”
  18. Jeremiah 22:23 Hebrew “Inhabitant”
  19. Jeremiah 22:24 Literally “a declaration of”
  20. Jeremiah 22:27 Literally “lifting their inner self”
  21. Jeremiah 22:30 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation