< Jeremiah 22 >

1 Thus, said Yahweh, Go thou down to the house of king of Judah, and speak thou there this word,
Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
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,
And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter by these gates:
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.
Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver him that is laid waste out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
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.
For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter, by the gates of this house, kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.
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 ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.
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;
For thus saith the LORD to the king's house of Judah; Thou [art] Gilead to me, [and] the head of Lebanon; [yet] surely I will make thee a wilderness, [and] cities [which] are not inhabited.
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.
And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast [them] into 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?
And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbor, Why hath the LORD done thus 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.
Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshiped other gods, and served them.
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.
Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: [but] weep bitterly for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.
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;
For thus saith the LORD concerning Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, who went forth from this place; He shall not return thither any more:
12 For in the place whither they have taken him captive, There, shall he die, —And this land, shall he see no more.
But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.
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.
Woe to him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; [that] useth his neighbor's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;
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.
That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and [it is] ceiled with cedar, and painted 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?
Shalt thou reign, because thou closest [thyself] in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, [and] then [it was] well with him?
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 judged the cause of the poor and needy; then [it was] well [with him]: [was] not this to know me? saith 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 thy eyes and thy heart [are] only for thy covetousness, and for shedding innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do [it].
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!
Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, [saying], Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, [saying], Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!
19 With the burial of an ass, shall he be buried, Dragged along and cast forth, beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond 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 up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all thy lovers are 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 spoke to thee in thy prosperity; [but] thou saidest, I will not hear. This [hath been] thy manner from thy youth, that thou hast not obeyed my voice.
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 shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.
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.
O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!
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;
[As] I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;
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;
And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand [of them] whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
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.
And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bore thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die.
27 But unto the land whither they shall be lifting up their souls to return, thither, shall they not return.
But to the land to which they desire to return, thither shall they not return.
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?
[Is] this man Coniah a despised broken idol? [is he] a vessel in which [is] no pleasure? why are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?
29 O land, land, land! Hear thou the word of Yahweh!
O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.
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.
Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man [that] shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.

< Jeremiah 22 >