Jeremiah 22
Amplified Bible
Warning of Jerusalem’s Fall
22 Thus says the Lord, “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak this word there: 2 ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David—you and your servants and your people who enter by these gates. 3 Thus says the Lord, “Execute justice and righteousness, and rescue the one who has been robbed from the hand of his oppressor. And do no wrong; do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you will indeed obey this word, then kings will enter through the gates of this palace, sitting in David’s place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, even the king himself and his servants and his people. 5 But if you will not hear and obey these words, I swear [an oath] by Myself,” says the Lord, “that this house will become a desolation.”’” 6 For thus says the Lord in regard to the house of the king of Judah:
“You are [as valuable] to Me as [the green pastures of] Gilead [east of the Jordan]
Or as the [plentiful] summit of Lebanon [west of the Jordan],
Yet most certainly [if you will not listen to Me] I will make you a wilderness,
And uninhabited cities.
7
“For I will prepare and appoint destroyers [to execute My judgments] against you,
Each with his weapons;
And they will cut down your [palaces built of] choicest cedars
And throw them in the fire.
8 “Many nations will pass by this city; and each man will say to another, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this great city?’ 9 Then they will answer, ‘Because the people ignored and abandoned the [solemn] covenant with the Lord their God and worshiped other gods and served them.’”
10
Do not weep for the dead or mourn for him;
But weep bitterly for the one who goes away [into exile],
For he will never return
And see his native country [again].
11 For thus says the Lord in regard to Shallum (Jehoahaz) the [third] son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father and who went from this place, “Shallum will not return here anymore; 12 he will die in the place where they led him captive and not see this land again.
Messages about the Kings
13
“Woe (judgment is coming) to him who builds his house by [acts of] unrighteousness
And his upper chambers by injustice,
Who uses his neighbor’s service without pay
And does not give him wages [for his work],
14
Who says, ‘I will build myself a spacious house
With large upper rooms,
And cut out its [wide] windows,
And panel it with cedar and paint it vermilion.’
15
“Do you think that you become a king because you have much more cedar [in your palace than Solomon]?
Did not your father [Josiah], as he ate and drank,
Do just and righteous acts [being upright and in right standing with God]?
Then all was well with him.
16
“He defended the cause of the afflicted and needy;
Then all was well.
Is that not what it means to know Me?”
Says the Lord.
17
“But your eyes and your heart
Are only intent on your own dishonest gain,
On shedding innocent blood,
On oppression and extortion and violence.”
18 Therefore thus says the Lord in regard to [a]Jehoiakim the [second] son of Josiah, king of Judah,
“The relatives will not lament (mourn over with expressions of grief) for him:
‘Alas, my brother!’ or, ‘Alas, sister,’ [how great our loss]!
The subjects will not lament for him:
‘Alas, master!’ or ‘Alas, majesty [how great was his glory]!’
19
“[b]He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey—
Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20
“Go up [north] to Lebanon and cry out,
And raise your voice in [the hills of] Bashan [across the Jordan];
Cry out also from [c]Abarim,
For all your lovers (allies) have been destroyed.(A)
21
“I spoke to you in your [times of] prosperity,
But you said, ‘I will not listen!’
This has been your attitude and practice from your youth;
You have not obeyed My voice.
22
“The wind [of adversity] will carry away all your shepherds (rulers, statesmen),
And your lovers (allies) will go into exile.
Surely then you will be ashamed and humiliated and disgraced
Because of all your wickedness.
23
“O inhabitant of [Jerusalem, whose palaces are made from the cedars of] Lebanon,
You who nest in the cedars,
How you will groan and how miserable you will be when pains come on you,
Pain like a woman in childbirth!(B)
24 “As I live,” says the Lord, “though [d]Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet [ring] on My right hand, yet would I pull you (Coniah) off. 25 And I will place you in the hand of those who seek your life and in the hand of those whom you fear, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the [e]Chaldeans. 26 I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth 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 [King] Coniah a despised, broken jar?
Is he a vessel in which no one takes pleasure?
Why are he and his [royal] descendants hurled out
And cast into a land which they do not know or understand?
29
“O land, land, land,
Hear the word of the Lord!
30 Thus says the Lord,
‘Write this man [Coniah] down as childless,
A man who will not prosper (succeed) in his lifetime;
For not one of his descendants will succeed
In sitting on the throne of David
Or ruling again in Judah.’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 22:18 Originally named Eliakim, he was renamed Jehoiakim by Pharaoh Neco of Egypt and placed on the throne of Judah after Neco deposed and imprisoned Jehoiakim’s younger brother, King Jehoahaz (also called Shallum), because Jehoahaz was allied with Babylon instead of Egypt.
- Jeremiah 22:19 Jehoiakim was killed during Babylon’s second attack. His body was desecrated and thrown out as food for scavengers.
- Jeremiah 22:20 A range of mountains southeast of Palestine.
- Jeremiah 22:24 Also known as Jeconiah and Jehoiachin.
- Jeremiah 22:25 The ruling tribe of Babylonia whose capital city was Babylon.
Jeremiah 22
English Standard Version
22 Thus says the Lord: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word, 2 and say, (A)‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates. 3 Thus says the Lord: (B)Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And (C)do no wrong or violence (D)to the resident alien, (E)the fatherless, and the widow, nor (F)shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you will indeed obey this word, (G)then there shall enter the gates of this house kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their servants and their people. 5 But if you will not obey these words, I (H)swear by myself, declares the Lord, that (I)this house shall become a desolation. 6 For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah:
“‘You are like Gilead to me,
like the summit of (J)Lebanon,
yet surely I will make you a desert,
(K)an uninhabited city.[a]
7 (L)I will prepare destroyers against you,
each with his weapons,
(M)and they shall cut down your choicest cedars
and cast them into the fire.
8 “‘And many nations will pass by this city, and every man will say to his neighbor, (N)“Why has the Lord dealt thus with this great city?” 9 (O)And they will answer, “Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and worshiped other gods and served them.”’”
10 (P)Weep not for him who is dead,
nor grieve for him,
(Q)but weep bitterly for him who goes away,
for he shall return no more
to see his native land.
Message to the Sons of Josiah
11 For thus says the Lord concerning Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, and (R)who went away from this place: “He shall return here no more, 12 but (S)in the place where they have carried him captive, there shall he die, and he shall never see this land again.”
13 (T)“Woe to him who builds his house by (U)unrighteousness,
and his upper rooms by injustice,
(V)who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing
and does not give him his wages,
14 who says, ‘I will build myself a great house
with spacious upper rooms,’
who cuts out windows for it,
paneling it with cedar
and (W)painting it with vermilion.
15 Do you think you are a king
because you compete in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink
and (X)do justice and righteousness?
(Y)Then it was well with him.
16 (Z)He judged the cause of the poor and needy;
(AA)then it was well.
Is not this (AB)to know me?
declares the Lord.
17 But you have eyes and heart
only for your dishonest gain,
(AC)for shedding innocent blood,
and for practicing oppression and violence.”
18 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
(AD)“They shall not lament for him, saying,
(AE)‘Ah, my brother!’ or ‘Ah, sister!’
They shall not lament for him, saying,
(AF)‘Ah, lord!’ or ‘Ah, his majesty!’
19 With the burial of a donkey (AG)he shall be buried,
dragged and dumped beyond the gates of Jerusalem.”
20 “Go up to Lebanon, and cry out,
and lift up your voice in Bashan;
cry out from (AH)Abarim,
for all (AI)your lovers are destroyed.
21 I spoke to you in your prosperity,
but you said, ‘I will not listen.’
(AJ)This has been your way from (AK)your youth,
that you have not obeyed my voice.
22 (AL)The wind shall shepherd all your shepherds,
and (AM)your lovers shall go into captivity;
(AN)then you will be ashamed and confounded
because of all your evil.
23 O inhabitant of (AO)Lebanon,
nested among the cedars,
how you will be pitied when pangs come upon you,
(AP)pain as of a woman in labor!”
24 (AQ)“As I live, declares the Lord, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were (AR)the signet ring on my right hand, yet I would tear you off 25 and (AS)give you (AT)into the hand of those who seek your life, into the hand of those of whom you are afraid, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 (AU)I will hurl you and (AV)the mother who bore you into another country, where you were not born, and there you shall die. 27 But to the land to which they will long to return, there they shall not return.”
28 Is this man (AW)Coniah a despised, broken pot,
a (AX)vessel no one cares for?
Why are he and his children hurled and cast
into a (AY)land that they do not know?
29 (AZ)O land, land, land,
hear the word of the Lord!
30 Thus says the Lord:
“Write this man down as (BA)childless,
a man who shall not succeed in his days,
(BB)for none of his offspring shall succeed
(BC)in sitting on the throne of David
and ruling again in Judah.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 22:6 Hebrew cities
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
