Jeremiah 22
1 Thus said YHWH: “Go down [to] the house of the king of Judah, and you have spoken this word there, and have said,
Thus, said Yahweh, Go thou down to the house of king of Judah, and speak thou there this word,
2 Hear a word of YHWH, O king of Judah, who are sitting on the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people, who are coming in at these gates,”
and say—Hear thou the word of Yahweh O king of Judah who sittest upon the throne of David, —thou, and thy servants and thy people who enter in at these gates,
3 Thus said YHWH: “Do judgment and righteousness, And deliver the plundered from the hand of the oppressor, And sojourner, orphan, and widow, you do not oppress nor wrong, And innocent blood you do not shed in this place.
Thus, saith Yahweh, —Execute ye justice, and righteousness, And deliver the robbed out of the hand of the oppressor, —But the sojourner the fatherless, and the widow, do not oppress neither commit violence, And the blood of the innocent, do not ye shed, in this place.
4 For if you certainly do this thing, Then kings sitting for David on his throne Have come in by the gates of this house, Riding on chariot, and on horses, He, and his servants, and his people.
For if ye, indeed do, this thing, then shall there enter into the gates of this house—kings, sitting for David upon his throne riding in chariots and on horses, he and his servants, and his people.
5 And if you do not hear these words, I have sworn by Myself,” A declaration of YHWH, “That this house is for a desolation.”
But if ye will not hear these words, By myself have I sworn Declareth Yahweh—That, a ruin, shall this house become.
6 For thus said YHWH concerning the house of the king of Judah: “You [are] Gilead to Me—head of Lebanon, If not—I make you a wilderness, Cities [that] are not inhabited.
For Thus, saith Yahweh Concerning the house of the king of Judah, —Though thou wast Gilead, to me, The summit of Lebanon, Yet surely I will make thee, A wilderness, Cities, not habitable;
7 And I have separated destroyers for you, Each with his weapons, And they have cut down the choice of your cedars, And have cast them on the fire.”
And I will hallow against thee Destroyers Every man with his weapons, —And they shall cut down of the choicest of thy cedars, and cast upon the fire.
8 And many nations have passed by this city, And they have each said to his neighbor, “Why has YHWH done thus to this great city?”
Then shall many nations pass by this city, —and shall say, every man to his neighbour, For what cause, hath Yahweh done thus, unto this great city?
9 And they have said, “Because that they have forsaken The covenant of their God YHWH, And bow themselves to other gods, and serve them.”
And they shall say, Because they forsook the covenant of Yahweh, their God, —And bowed down to other gods And served them.
10 You do not weep for the dead, nor bemoan for him, Weep severely for the traveler, For he does not return again, Nor has he seen the land of his birth.
Do not ye lament for him that is dead Neither bemoan ye, him, But weep ye—weep on—for him that is going away, For he shall not return any more Nor see the land of his birth.
11 For thus said YHWH concerning Shallum son of Josiah king of Judah, who is reigning instead of his father Josiah, who has gone forth from this place: “He does not return here again;
For Thus, saith Yahweh—Touching Shallum, son of Josiah king of Judah, That reigneth instead of Josiah his father, Who hath gone forth out of this place, He shall not return thither any more;
12 For he dies in the place to where they have removed him, And he does not see this land again.
For in the place whither they have taken him captive, There, shall he die, —And this land, shall he see no more.
13 Woe to him who is building his house by unrighteousness, And his upper chambers by injustice, He lays service on his neighbor for nothing, And he does not give his wage to him.
Alas! for him who buildeth his house without righteousness, And his roof-chambers without justice, —Of his neighbour, taketh service for nought, And recompense for his work, giveth him not.
14 Who is saying, I build a large house for myself, And airy upper chambers, And he has cut out its windows for himself, Covered with cedar, and painted with vermillion.
Who saith—I will build me a roomy house, with spacious roof-chambers, —So he cutteth him open its windows, And it is covered in with cedar, And he painteth it with vermilion.
15 Do you reign, because you are fretting yourself in cedar? Your father—did he not eat and drink? Indeed, he did judgment and righteousness, Then [it is] well with him.
Shalt thou reign, because, thou, art eager to excel in cedar? Thy father, did he not eat and drink, and do justice and righteousness, And, then, it was well with him?
16 He decided the cause of the poor and needy, Then [it is] well—is it not to know Me?” A declaration of YHWH.
[Did he not] plead the cause of the oppressed and the needy, And, then, it was well? Was not, that, to know, me? Demandeth Yahweh.
17 “But your eyes and your heart are not, Except on your dishonest gain, And on shedding of innocent blood, And on oppression, and on doing of violence.”
Verily thou hast neither eyes nor heart, save for thy plundering and for thy shedding of innocent blood, and for oppression and for crushing to do them!
18 Therefore, thus said YHWH concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: “They do not lament for him, Oh, my brother! And, Oh, my sister! They do not lament for him, Oh, lord! And, Oh, his splendor!
Therefore—Thus, saith Yahweh, Touching Jehoiakim son of Josiah King of Judah, They shall not cry in lament for him Alas my brother! or Alas sister! They shall not cry in lament for him Alas lord! or Alas! his renown!
19 He is buried [with] the burial of a donkey, Dragged and cast out there to the gates of Jerusalem.
With the burial of an ass, shall he be buried, Dragged along and cast forth, beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20 Go up to Lebanon, and cry, And give forth your voice in Bashan, And cry from Abarim, For all loving you have been destroyed.
Ascend the Lebanon and make outcry, And in Bashan, put forth thy voice, —And make outcry from Abarim, For all thy lovers are torn in pieces.
21 I have spoken to you in your ease, You have said, I do not listen, This [is] your way from your youth, For you have not listened to My voice.
I spake unto thee, in thy carelessness, —Thou saidst I will not hearken! This hath been thy way from thy youth, That thou hast not hearkened to my voice.
22 Wind consumes all your friends, And your lovers go into captivity, Surely then you are ashamed, And have blushed for all your wickedness.
All thy shepherds, the wind shall feed, And, thy lovers into captivity, shall depart, —Surely, then shalt thou turn pale and be confounded, by reason of all thy wickedness.
23 O dweller in Lebanon, making a nest among cedars, How gracious have you been when pangs come to you, Pain—as of a travailing woman.”
O inhabitress of Lebanon that makest thy nest in the cedars, —How hast thou bemoaned thyself Now that pangs have overtaken thee, Anguish, as of her that giveth birth.
24 “[As] I live,” A declaration of YHWH, “Though Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah was a seal on My right hand, surely there I draw you away,
As I live, Declareth Yahweh, —Even though Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet-ring upon my right hand, yet, from thence, would I pull thee off;
25 And I have given you into the hand of those seeking your life, And into hands of which you are afraid, Into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, And into the hand of the Chaldeans.
and I would give thee into the hand of them who seek thy life and into the hand of them from the face of whom, thou dost shrink in fear, —even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans;
26 And I have cast you, And your mother who bore you, to another country, Where you were not born, and you die there.
and I will hurl thee out and thy mother who bare thee, upon another land where ye were not born, —and, there, shall ye die.
27 And to the land to where they are lifting up their soul to return, They do not return there.”
But unto the land whither they shall be lifting up their souls to return, thither, shall they not return.
28 A grief—a despised broken thing—is this man Coniah? A vessel in which there is no pleasure? Why have they been cast up and down, He and his seed, Indeed, were they cast on to a land that they did not know?
An earthen vessel to be despised thrown about, is this man Coniah? Or an instrument, in which is no pleasure? Wherefore are they to be cast out, he and his seed, and to be thrown forth upon a land which they have not known?
29 Earth, earth, earth, hear a word of YHWH!
O land, land, land! Hear thou the word of Yahweh!
30 Thus said YHWH: “Write this man down [as] childless, A man—he does not prosper in his days, For none of his seed prospers, Sitting on the throne of David, And ruling in Judah again!”
Thus, saith Yahweh, —Register ye this man, childless, A man who shall not prosper in his days, —For there shall prosper of his seed No man sitting upon the throne of David, Or ruling any more over Judah.
