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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.’”

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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”

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—you, your officers, and your people who enter these gates. This is what the Lord says: Administer justice and righteousness.(A) Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor.(B) Don’t exploit or brutalize the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. 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(C) riding on chariots and horses—they, their officers, and their people. But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by Myself”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“that this house will become a ruin.”(D)

For this is what the Lord says concerning the house of the king of Judah:

You are like Gilead to Me,
or the summit of Lebanon,
but I will certainly turn you into a wilderness,
uninhabited cities.
I will appoint destroyers 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(E) of Yahweh their God and worshiped and served other gods.’”(F)

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