Jeremiah 22
1 This is what Yahweh says, “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and proclaim this word there.
Thus said the Lord, Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word;
2 Say, 'King of Judah, listen to the word of Yahweh—you who sit on David's throne—you, and your servants, and your people who come through these gates.
And thou shalt 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 in by these gates:
3 Yahweh says this, “Perform justice and righteousness, and anyone who has been robbed—rescue him from the hand of the oppressor. Do not mistreat any foreigner in your land, or any orphan or widow. Do not commit violence or pour out innocent blood in this place.
Thus hath said the Lord, Execute ye justice and righteousness, and deliver him that is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor; and the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow shall ye not oppress, and do them no violence, and shed no innocent blood in this place.
4 For if you truly do these things, then kings sitting on David's throne will enter the gates of this house riding in a chariot and on horses, he, his servants, and his people!
For if ye indeed will do this thing, then shall enter in through the gates of this house kings sitting after David upon his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.
5 But if you do not listen to these words from me that I have announced—this is Yahweh's declaration—then this royal house will become a ruin.”'
But if ye will not hear these words, then do I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a ruin.
6 For Yahweh says this concerning the house of the king of Judah, 'You are like Gilead, or like the summit of Lebanon to me. Yet I will turn you into a wilderness, into cities with no inhabitants.
For thus hath said the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah, A Gil'ad [though] thou art unto me, a summit of the Lebanon: yet I will surely change thee into a wilderness, cities which are not inhabited.
7 For I have designated destroyers to come against you! Men with their weapons will cut off the best of your cedars and let them fall into the fire.
And I will make ready against thee destroyers, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down the choice of thy cedars, and cast them into the fire.
8 Then many nations will pass by this city. Each person will say to the next, “Why has Yahweh acted in this way toward this great city?”
And [when] many nations [then] pass by this city, they will say every man to his neighbor, Wherefore hath the Lord done the like unto this great city?
9 Then the other will answer, “Because they abandoned the covenant of Yahweh their God and bowed down to other gods and worshiped them.”
Then shall they say, Because they had forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and bowed down unto other gods, and served them.
10 Do not weep for the one who is dead or mourn for him; but weep bitterly for him who is about to go away, because he will never return and see his native land again.'
Weep not for the dead, and do not bemoan him: weep sorely for him that goeth away; for he shall never return any more, and see the land of his birth.
11 For Yahweh says this about Jehoahaz son of Josiah king of Judah, who served as king instead of Josiah his father, 'He has gone from this place and will not come back.
For thus hath said the Lord respecting Shallum the son of Josiah the king of Judah, who reigneth in the place of Josiah his father, who is gone forth out of this place, He shall never return thither any more;
12 He will die there in the place to where they have exiled him, and he will never again see this land.'
But in the place whither they have led him into exile, there shall he die; but this land shall he not see any more.
13 Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, who makes his neighbor work for him for nothing, and he does not give him his wages;
Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by injustice; that maketh his neighbor work without wages, and giveth him not the reward for his labor;
14 he says, 'I will build for myself a large house with spacious upper rooms.' So he cuts out large windows for it, and he panels it with cedar, and he paints it red.
That saith, I will build me a roomy house, and ample chambers, and cutteth himself out windows, and ceileth it with cedar, and painteth it with colors.
15 Is this what makes you a good king, that you wanted to have boards of cedar? Did not your father also eat and drink, yet do justice and righteousness? Then things went well for him.
Shalt thou reign, because thou strivest to excel with cedar buildings? behold, thy father ate and drank, but he executed justice and righteousness: then was it well with him!
16 He judged in favor of the poor and needy. It was good then. Is this not what it means to know me?—this is Yahweh's declaration.
He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then was it well: is not this the proper knowledge of me? saith the Lord.
17 But there is nothing in your eyes and heart except worry for your unjust profit and for pouring out innocent blood, for producing oppression and crushing of others.
But thy eyes and thy heart are directed on nothing but upon thy own gain, and upon innocent blood to shed it, and upon oppression, and upon extortion, to practise them.
18 Therefore this is what Yahweh says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah: They will not lament for him, saying, 'Woe, my brother!' or 'Woe, my sister!' They will not lament for him, saying, 'Woe, master!' or 'Woe, majesty!'
Therefore thus hath said the Lord concerning Jehoyakim the son of Josiah the king of Judah, They shall not lament for him, with, “Woe, my brother!” and, “Woe, sister!” they shall not lament for him, with “Woe, lord!” and, “Woe, to his glory!”
19 He will be buried with a donkey's burial, dragged away and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
With the burial of an ass shall he be buried, dragged about and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20 Go up Lebanon's mountains and shout. Lift your voice in Bashan. Shout from the Abarim mountains, for all of your friends will be destroyed.
Ascend the Lebanon, and cry aloud; and let thy voice resound in Bashan; and cry aloud from 'Aharim; for crushed are all thy lovers.
21 I spoke to you when you were safe, but you said, 'I will not listen.' This was your custom since your youth, for you have not listened to my voice.
I spoke unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy very youth, that thou didst not hearken to my voice.
22 The wind will shepherd away all your shepherds, and your friends will go into captivity. Then you will certainly be ashamed and humiliated by all of your evil deeds.
The wind shall scatter abroad all thy shepherds, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded because of all thy wickedness.
23 You who live in 'Lebanon,' who is nestled in cedar buildings, how you will be pitied when the labor pains come upon you, pain like that of a woman in labor!”
O inhabitress of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how full of grace wilt thou be! when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!
24 “As I live—this is Yahweh's declaration—even if you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet on my right hand, I would tear you off.
As I live, saith the Lord, though Conyahu the son of Jehoyakim the king of Judah were a signet upon my right hand, yet for a surety would I thence pluck thee;
25 For I have given you to the hand of the ones seeking your life and to the hand of those before whom you are afraid, even to the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Chaldeans.
And I will give thee into the hand of those that seek thy life, and into the hand of those of whom thou art afraid, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
26 I will throw you and your mother who bore you into another land, a country where you were not born, and there you will die.
And I will hurl thee out, and thy mother that hath born thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die.
27 About this land to which they will want to return, they will not come back here.
But to the land whitherward they direct their soul to return, thither shall they not return.
28 Is this a despised and shattered vessel? Is this man Jehoiachin a pot that pleases no one? Why have they thrown him and his descendants out, and have poured them out into a land that they did not know?
Is this man Conyahu a despised broken image? or a vessel without value? wherefore are they hurled out, he and his seed, and are cast forth into a land which they know not?
29 Land, Land, Land! Hear the word of Yahweh!
O land, land, land! hear the word of the Lord.
30 Yahweh says this, 'Write about this man Jehoiachin: He will be childless. He will not prosper during his days, and no one among his descendants will achieve success or ever again sit on David's throne and rule over Judah.'”
Thus hath said the Lord, Write ye down this man as childless, as a man that shall not prosper in his days; for no man of his seed shall succeed to sit upon the throne of David, and to rule any more in Judah.
