Jeremiah 22
1 Thus, said Yahweh, Go thou down to the house of king of Judah, and speak thou there this word,
This is what the Lord says: Go to the palace of the king of Judah and give this message.
2 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,
Tell them: Listen to what the Lord has to say to you, king of Judah, sitting on the throne of David, you and your officials and the people here with you.
3 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.
This is what the Lord says: Do what is fair and right. Protect those who are being unjustly treated by corrupt people. Don't do anything wrong to foreigners, orphans, or the widows. Don't use violence against them. Don't kill innocent people.
4 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.
If you will honestly do what I tell you, then kings who sit on David's throne will ride on chariots and horses with their officials through the gates of this palace. They'll be accompanied by the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem.
5 But if ye will not hear these words, By myself have I sworn Declareth Yahweh—That, a ruin, shall this house become.
But if you refuse to obey what I say, then I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that this palace will be turned into rubble.
6 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;
This is what the Lord says about the royal family of the king of Judah: You are as dear to me as the forests on Gilead and on the mountains of Lebanon. But I will turn you into a desert, into towns where no one lives.
7 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.
I will choose men to come and destroy you, each with their own ax. They will chop down your fine cedars and throw them in the fire.
8 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?
Foreigners from many nations will pass by this city and ask each another, “Why has the Lord done such terrible things to this great city?”
9 And they shall say, Because they forsook the covenant of Yahweh, their God, —And bowed down to other gods And served them.
People will answer, “Because they broke the agreement of the Lord their God. They went and worshiped other gods.”
10 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.
Don't weep over the king that died. Don't mourn for him. Instead weep for the king who is exiled, who will never return, who will never see his homeland again.
11 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;
This is what the Lord says about Jehoahaz of Josiah, king of Judah. He succeeded his father Josiah but was taken away. He will never return.
12 For in the place whither they have taken him captive, There, shall he die, —And this land, shall he see no more.
He will die in exile; he will never see this country again.
13 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.
Trouble is coming to Jehoiakim because he mistreats others in building his palace, by dealing unfairly with those constructing the upper floors. He makes his own people work for nothing—he doesn't pay them any wages.
14 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.
He says to himself, “I'm going to build myself a great palace, with large upper rooms.” He has windows inserted, puts in cedar panels, and paints it bright red with vermilion.
15 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?
Does it make you a king just because you have more cedar than anyone else? Your father had food and drink, didn't he? He ruled fairly and honestly, and he had a good life because of this.
16 [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.
He defended the poor and those in need, and so things went well. Isn't this what knowing me really means? declares the Lord.
17 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!
But all you're looking for, all you think about, is getting whatever you want, however dishonestly. You kill the innocent, you violently mistreat and exploit your people.
18 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!
So this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah: They won't mourn for him, saying: “How sad, my brother! How sad my sister!” They won't mourn for him, saying: “How sad, my lord! How sad, his majesty!”
19 With the burial of an ass, shall he be buried, Dragged along and cast forth, beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
His burial will be that of a donkey. He'll be dragged off and thrown away outside the gates of Jerusalem.
20 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.
Go to Lebanon and cry for help! Shout in Bashan! Scream from Abarim! For all your lovers have been destroyed.
21 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.
I warned you when you thought you were safe and sound. But you replied, “I'm not going to listen!” That's been your attitude since you were young—you never did what I told you.
22 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.
The wind will blow away all your “shepherds,” and your lovers will go into exile. Then you will be shamed and disgraced because of all the evil things you've done.
23 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.
You who live in “Lebanon” in your cedar nest, how much you're going to groan when agonizing pains hit you like a woman in labor.
24 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;
The Lord said to Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah: As I live, declares the Lord, even if you were a signet ring on a finger of my right hand, I would pull you off.
25 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;
I'm going to hand you over to those who terrify you and who want to kill you, to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and the Babylonians.
26 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.
I'm going to throw you out—you and the mother who gave birth to you—sending you to another country. Neither of you were born there, but both of you will die there.
27 But unto the land whither they shall be lifting up their souls to return, thither, shall they not return.
You won't ever return to the country you love so much.
28 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?
Who is this man Jehoiachin? A broken pot that's been thrown away, something nobody wants? Why has he and his children been thrown out, exiled in an unfamiliar country?
29 O land, land, land! Hear thou the word of Yahweh!
My country, my country, my country! Listen to what the Lord has to say!
30 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.
This is what the Lord says: Put this man down as having no children. He's a man who won't ever be successful in his whole life. None of his children will ever be successful either. None of them will sit on David's throne or be king in Judah.
