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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”

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