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Jeremiah 22
EasyEnglish Bible
Jeremiah 22
EasyEnglish Bible
A message to Judah's kings[a]
22 The Lord said to me, ‘Go down to the palace of the king of Judah. You must say to him, 2 “King of Judah, descendant of King David, listen to this message from the Lord. Your officers and the people of your palace must listen too. 3 The Lord says: You must do things that are right and fair. Punish those who rob other people. Help the people that they have hurt. Do not be cruel to foreigners who are living among you. Do not cheat them. Do not hurt or cheat widows, or children who have no family. Stop killing people who have not done anything wrong. 4 If you are careful to obey these commands, David's descendants will continue to rule as kings in this city. They will ride on horses and on chariots to come in through the city's gates. Their officers and their people will come with them. 5 But if you do not obey these commands, I will destroy this palace. I promise you that it will become a heap of stones! That is what I, the Lord, tell you.” ’
6 The Lord says this about the palace of the king of Judah:
‘This place is as beautiful as Gilead!
It is as beautiful as Lebanon's mountains.
But I will cause it to become a wilderness,
a place where nobody lives any more.
7 I will send enemies to destroy this place.
They will use their weapons to knock it all down.
They will cut down the strong beams of cedar wood.
They will throw them into the fire.
8 People from many nations will see what has happened here. They will ask each other, “Why has the Lord destroyed this great city?” 9 Other people will answer, “He did it because they refused to obey their covenant with the Lord their God. They worshipped other gods instead of him.” ’
A message about King Jehoahaz
10 Do not weep because the king is dead.
Do not be sad that he no longer lives.
Instead, weep for the king that has gone away.
He will never return to see his own land again.[b]
11 Josiah's son, Shallum, became king of Judah after his father died. But enemies took him away as a prisoner to a foreign land. The Lord says this about him: ‘He will never return to this land. 12 He will die in the foreign land where they took him as prisoner. He will not see this land again.’
A message about King Jehoiakim[c]
13 The Lord says,
‘Terrible trouble will happen to this man!
He cheats people
so that he can build a beautiful palace for himself.
He does not do what is right and fair.
He does not pay the people who work for him.
His own men have to work for nothing.
14 He says, “I will build a great palace for myself.
It will have large rooms upstairs.”
He puts windows in its walls.
He covers the walls with cedar wood.
He uses red paint to make it beautiful.
15 Are you better than other kings
because you use more cedar wood to build your palace?
Think about how your father lived.
He did what was right and fair.
He had enough to eat and to drink.
So he was happy with a good life.
16 He did what was right
for people who were poor and helpless.
So people were happy.
That is how people who know me should live.’
That is what the Lord says.
17 ‘But you always want to cheat people,
so that you can get more riches for yourself.
You make plans to kill people who have not done anything wrong.
You hurt people in cruel ways.’
18 So the Lord says this about Josiah's son, King Jehoiakim of Judah:
‘People will not weep when he dies.
They will not say, “I am very sad, my brother.
I am very sad, my sister.”
They will not weep and say,
“What a terrible thing has happened!
Our great king has died!”
19 Instead, they will bury him like a dead donkey.
They will pull his dead body to the city's gate.
They will throw it on the ground outside Jerusalem.’
20 ‘Go up to Lebanon and cry aloud.[d]
Shout loudly in Bashan.
Cry aloud from the mountains of Moab.
The nations that were your lovers
have lost their power.
21 When you were feeling strong and safe,
I warned you that this would happen.
But you said, “I refuse to listen to you.”
You have been like that since you were young.
You have never obeyed me.
22 Your leaders will all disappear,
as if a strong wind had blown them away.
Enemies will take your friends away as prisoners.
Then you will feel very ashamed,
because of all the wicked things that you have done.
23 You live safely in beautiful houses
that are made from Lebanon's cedar wood.
But when I punish you, you will cry out with pain.
You will feel pain like a woman who is having a baby.’
A message about King Jeconiah
24 This is what the Lord says: ‘Jeconiah, king of Judah, son of Jehoiakim, I promise you this, as surely as I live. I will remove your power as king. If you were the special ring of authority on my right hand, I would pull you off! 25 You are afraid of your enemies who want to kill you, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his army. Now I will let them catch you. 26 I will throw you and your mother out of Judah. I will send you both to a foreign land. You were not born in that land, but you will both die there. 27 You will want to return to this land of Judah, but you will never come back here.’
28 This man Jeconiah will be like a broken pot.
It is a clay pot that nobody wants any more.
He and his children will go as prisoners to a foreign country.
They will live in a country that they do not know.
Why will that happen to them?
29 Listen, people of this land! Listen, people of Judah!
Listen to the Lord's message!
30 The Lord says,
‘Write this man's name on the list.
Write it as the name of a man who has no children.[e]
He will not have success in his life.
None of his sons will rule as a descendant of King David.
None of them will be king of Judah.’
Footnotes
- 22:1 These messages are about the kings who ruled after King Josiah.
- 22:10 King Josiah was the king who had died. He had been a good king. King Jehoahaz was the king that enemies had taken away to a foreign land. Shallum is another name for King Jehoahaz. See 2 Kings 23:31-34; 1 Chronicles 3:15.
- 22:13 King Jehoiakim was another son of King Josiah. See Jeremiah 22:18.
- 22:20 This is a message to the people of Jerusalem.
- 22:30 Jeconiah did have children but they would never become king after him. So they would not go on the list of future kings.
Jeremiah 22
New King James Version
Jeremiah 22
New King James Version
Prophecies Against the Kings of Judah
22 Thus says the Lord: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak this word, 2 and say, (A)‘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 these gates! 3 Thus says the Lord: (B)“Execute[a] judgment and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the (C)fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you indeed do this thing, (D)then shall enter the gates of this house, riding on horses and in chariots, accompanied by servants and people, kings who sit on the throne of David. 5 But if you will not [b]hear these words, (E)I swear by Myself,” says the Lord, “that this house shall become a desolation.” ’ ”
6 For thus says the Lord to the house of the king of Judah:
“You are (F)Gilead to Me,
The head of Lebanon;
Yet I surely will make you a wilderness,
Cities which are not inhabited.
7 I will prepare destroyers against you,
Everyone with his weapons;
They shall cut down (G)your choice cedars
(H)And cast them into the fire.
8 And many nations will pass by this city; and everyone will say to his neighbor, (I)‘Why has the Lord done so to this great city?’ 9 Then they will answer, (J)‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshiped other gods and served them.’ ”
10 Weep not for (K)the dead, nor bemoan him;
Weep bitterly for him (L)who goes away,
For he shall return no more,
Nor see his native country.
Message to the Sons of Josiah
11 For thus says the Lord concerning (M)Shallum[c] the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, (N)who went from this place: “He shall not return here anymore, 12 but he shall die in the place where they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.
13 “Woe(O) to him who builds his house by unrighteousness
And his [d]chambers by injustice,
(P)Who uses his neighbor’s service without wages
And gives him nothing for his work,
14 Who says, ‘I will build myself a wide house with spacious [e]chambers,
And cut out windows for it,
Paneling it with cedar
And painting it with vermilion.’
15 “Shall you reign because you enclose yourself in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink,
And do justice and righteousness?
Then (Q)it was well with him.
16 He [f]judged the cause of the poor and needy;
Then it was well.
Was not this knowing Me?” says the Lord.
17 “Yet(R) your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your covetousness,
For shedding innocent blood,
And practicing oppression and violence.”
18 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
(S)“They shall not lament for him,
Saying, (T)‘Alas, my brother!’ or ‘Alas, my sister!’
They shall not lament for him,
Saying, ‘Alas, master!’ or ‘Alas, his glory!’
19 (U)He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey,
Dragged and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20 “Go up to Lebanon, and cry out,
And lift up your voice in Bashan;
Cry from Abarim,
For all your lovers are destroyed.
21 I spoke to you in your prosperity,
But you said, ‘I will not hear.’
(V)This has been your manner from your youth,
That you did not obey My voice.
22 The wind shall eat up all (W)your [g]rulers,
And your lovers shall go into captivity;
Surely then you will be ashamed and humiliated
For all your wickedness.
23 O inhabitant of Lebanon,
Making your nest in the cedars,
How gracious will you be when pangs come upon you,
Like (X)the pain of a woman in [h]labor?
Message to Coniah
24 “As I live,” says the Lord, (Y)“though [i]Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, (Z)were the [j]signet on My right hand, yet I would pluck you off; 25 (AA)and I will give you into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of those whose face you fear—the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of the [k]Chaldeans. 26 (AB)So I will cast you out, and your 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 desire to return, there they shall not return.
28 “Is this man [l]Coniah a despised, broken idol—
(AC)A vessel in which is no pleasure?
Why are they cast out, he and his descendants,
And cast into a land which they do not know?
29 (AD)O earth, earth, earth,
Hear the word of the Lord!
30 Thus says the Lord:
‘Write this man down as (AE)childless,
A man who shall not prosper in his days;
For (AF)none of his descendants shall prosper,
Sitting on the throne of David,
And ruling anymore in Judah.’ ”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 22:3 Dispense justice
- Jeremiah 22:5 Obey
- Jeremiah 22:11 Or Jehoahaz
- Jeremiah 22:13 Lit. roof chambers, upper chambers
- Jeremiah 22:14 Lit. roof chambers, upper chambers
- Jeremiah 22:16 Defended
- Jeremiah 22:22 Lit. shepherds
- Jeremiah 22:23 childbirth
- Jeremiah 22:24 Or Jeconiah or Jehoiachin
- Jeremiah 22:24 signet ring
- Jeremiah 22:25 Or Babylonians
- Jeremiah 22:28 See note at v. 24
Jeremiah 22
New International Version
Jeremiah 22
New International Version
Judgment Against Wicked Kings
22 This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the palace of the king(A) of Judah and proclaim this message there: 2 ‘Hear(B) the word of the Lord to you, king of Judah, you who sit on David’s throne(C)—you, your officials and your people who come through these gates.(D) 3 This is what the Lord says: Do what is just(E) and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor(F) the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow,(G) and do not shed innocent blood(H) in this place. 4 For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings(I) who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. 5 But if you do not obey(J) these commands, declares the Lord, I swear(K) by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’”
6 For this is what the Lord says about the palace of the king of Judah:
“Though you are like Gilead(L) to me,
like the summit of Lebanon,(M)
I will surely make you like a wasteland,(N)
like towns not inhabited.
7 I will send destroyers(O) against you,
each man with his weapons,
and they will cut(P) up your fine cedar beams
and throw them into the fire.(Q)
8 “People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’(R) 9 And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods.(S)’”
10 Do not weep for the dead(T) king or mourn(U) his loss;
rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled,
because he will never return(V)
nor see his native land again.
11 For this is what the Lord says about Shallum[a](W) son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but has gone from this place: “He will never return. 12 He will die(X) in the place where they have led him captive; he will not see this land again.”
13 “Woe(Y) to him who builds(Z) his palace by unrighteousness,
his upper rooms by injustice,
making his own people work for nothing,
not paying(AA) them for their labor.
14 He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace(AB)
with spacious upper rooms.’
So he makes large windows in it,
panels it with cedar(AC)
and decorates it in red.(AD)
15 “Does it make you a king
to have more and more cedar?
Did not your father have food and drink?
He did what was right and just,(AE)
so all went well(AF) with him.
16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy,(AG)
and so all went well.
Is that not what it means to know(AH) me?”
declares the Lord.
17 “But your eyes and your heart
are set only on dishonest gain,(AI)
on shedding innocent blood(AJ)
and on oppression and extortion.”(AK)
18 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
“They will not mourn(AL) for him:
‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’
They will not mourn for him:
‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’
19 He will have the burial(AM) of a donkey—
dragged away and thrown(AN)
outside the gates of Jerusalem.”
20 “Go up to Lebanon and cry out,(AO)
let your voice be heard in Bashan,(AP)
cry out from Abarim,(AQ)
for all your allies(AR) are crushed.
21 I warned you when you felt secure,(AS)
but you said, ‘I will not listen!’
This has been your way from your youth;(AT)
you have not obeyed(AU) me.
22 The wind(AV) will drive all your shepherds(AW) away,
and your allies(AX) will go into exile.
Then you will be ashamed and disgraced(AY)
because of all your wickedness.
23 You who live in ‘Lebanon,[b](AZ)’
who are nestled in cedar buildings,
how you will groan when pangs come upon you,
pain(BA) like that of a woman in labor!
24 “As surely as I live,” declares the Lord, “even if you, Jehoiachin[c](BB) son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring(BC) on my right hand, I would still pull you off. 25 I will deliver(BD) you into the hands of those who want to kill you, those you fear—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Babylonians.[d] 26 I will hurl(BE) you and the mother(BF) who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. 27 You will never come back to the land you long to return(BG) to.”
28 Is this man Jehoiachin(BH) a despised, broken pot,(BI)
an object no one wants?
Why will he and his children be hurled(BJ) out,
cast into a land(BK) they do not know?
29 O land,(BL) land, land,
hear the word of the Lord!
30 This is what the Lord says:
“Record this man as if childless,(BM)
a man who will not prosper(BN) in his lifetime,
for none of his offspring(BO) will prosper,
none will sit on the throne(BP) of David
or rule anymore in Judah.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 22:11 Also called Jehoahaz
- Jeremiah 22:23 That is, the palace in Jerusalem (see 1 Kings 7:2)
- Jeremiah 22:24 Hebrew Koniah, a variant of Jehoiachin; also in verse 28
- Jeremiah 22:25 Or Chaldeans
Jeremiah 22
King James Version
Jeremiah 22
King James Version
22 Thus saith the Lord; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
2 And say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:
3 Thus saith the Lord; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
4 For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.
5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.
6 For thus saith the Lord unto the king's house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.
7 And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.
8 And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this great city?
9 Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.
10 Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.
11 For thus saith the Lord touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more:
12 But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.
13 Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;
14 That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion.
15 Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him?
16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the Lord.
17 But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.
18 Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!
19 He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20 Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed.
21 I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice.
22 The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.
23 O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!
24 As I live, saith the Lord, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;
25 And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
26 And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die.
27 But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return.
28 Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?
29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord.
30 Thus saith the Lord, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.
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