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22 Thus says the Lord: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word, 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. 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. 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. But if you will not obey these words, I (H)swear by myself, declares the Lord, that (I)this house shall become a desolation. 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]
(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.

“‘And many nations will pass by this city, and every man will say to his neighbour, (N)“Why has the Lord dealt thus with this great city?” (O)And they will answer, “Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and worshipped 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 neighbour 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,
    panelling 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 practising 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 labour!”

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

  1. Jeremiah 22:6 Hebrew cities

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: ‘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) 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. 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. But if you do not obey(J) these commands, declares the Lord, I swear(K) by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’”

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.
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)

“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) 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

  1. Jeremiah 22:11 Also called Jehoahaz
  2. Jeremiah 22:23 That is, the palace in Jerusalem (see 1 Kings 7:2)
  3. Jeremiah 22:24 Hebrew Koniah, a variant of Jehoiachin; also in verse 28
  4. Jeremiah 22:25 Or Chaldeans