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. 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. 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. 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. 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)

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.
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.

“Many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why did the Lord do such a thing to this great city?’ 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)

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Instructions for the Kings of Judah

22 This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and tell him this: ‘Listen to this message from the Lord, king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David—you, your officials,[a] and your people who enter these gates. This is what the Lord says: “Uphold justice and righteousness. Deliver from their oppressor those who have been robbed. Don’t mistreat or do violence to the alien, the orphan, or the widow, or shed the blood of innocent people in this place. Rather, carefully obey this message,[b] and then kings sitting for David on his throne and riding in chariots and on horses will enter the gates of this house. The king will enter along with his officials[c] and his people. But if you don’t listen to these words, I swear,” declares the Lord, “that this house will become a ruin.”’” For this is what the Lord says about the house of the king of Judah,

“You are like Gilead to me,
    like the summit of Lebanon.
Yet I’ll surely make you a desert,
    towns where no one lives.
I’ll appoint people to destroy you—
    men with their weapons.
They’ll cut down some of your choice cedars[d]
    and incinerate them.

“Many nations will pass by this city and say to one another, ‘Why did the Lord do this to this great city?’ Then people[e] will respond, ‘It is[f] because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have bowed down to other gods and served them.’

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 22:2 Or your servants
  2. Jeremiah 22:4 Or do this thing
  3. Jeremiah 22:4 Lit. house, he, his officials
  4. Jeremiah 22:7 I.e. a genus of coniferous evergreen in the family Pinaceae; and so throughout the book
  5. Jeremiah 22:9 Lit. they’ll say
  6. Jeremiah 22:9 The Heb. lacks It is