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 Jehovah: Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak these words.
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.
Hear the word of Jehovah, thou king of Judah, That sittest upon the throne of David, Thou, and thy servants, and thy people, Who go in and out through 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 saith Jehovah: Do justice and righteousness; Deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor; To the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow Do no wrong, do 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 shall do this, Then shall there enter in through the gates of this house Kings, who shall sit upon the throne of David, Riding in chariots and upon horses, Each one with 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 hearken to these words, By myself do I swear, saith Jehovah, That this house shall become a desolation.
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 saith Jehovah to the house of the king of Judah: Gilead art thou to me, yea, the summit of Lebanon; Yet will I make thee a desert, As cities 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.
I will appoint against thee destroyers, Every one with his weapons; And they shall cut down thy choice 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 many nations shall pass by this city, And they shall say one to another, “Wherefore hath Jehovah done thus to 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 answer: “Because they forsook the covenant of Jehovah their God, And worshipped strange 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 him that is dead, Make no lamentation for him! Weep, weep ye for him who is gone away; For he shall return no more, Nor see his native land!
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 saith Jehovah Concerning Shallum, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, Who reigned instead of Josiah his father, Who went forth from this place: He shall return to it no 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 captive shall he die, And shall see this land no 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 to him that buildeth his house with injustice, And his upper apartments with wrong; That exacteth a man's service without wages, And giveth him no recompense!
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 large house, And spacious apartments,” And that cutteth out windows, And ceileth it with cedar, And painteth it with vermilion!
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 rivallest others in cedar? Did not thy father eat and drink? Yet he had regard to justice and equity; Therefore it was 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 maintained the cause of the poor and needy; Then was it well with him; Was not this to know me, saith Jehovah?
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 thine eyes and thy heart are only upon thine own gain, And the shedding of innocent blood, And deeds of violence and oppression.
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 saith Jehovah, Concerning Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah: They shall not lament for him, saying, “Alas, my brother!” or, “Alas, sister!” They shall not lament for him, saying, “Alas, lord!” or, “Alas, 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 along 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.
Go thou up to Lebanon and cry, [[O Jerusalem!]] And upon Bashan lift up thy voice; Cry aloud from Abarim! For all thy lovers are fallen.
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 spake to thee in thy prosperity, But thou saidst, “I will not hear.” This hath been thy manner from thy youth; Thou hast not obeyed 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 consume all thy shepherds, And thy lovers shall go into captivity; Then shalt thou be ashamed And confounded for 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 thou that dwellest in Lebanon, That makest thy nest in cedars, How wretched shalt thou be, when anguish cometh upon thee, 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 Jehovah, Thou Coniah, son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Though thou wert the signet upon my right hand, Even thence would I 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 them that seek thy life, And into the hand of them that thou fearest, Even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, And into the hand of the Chaldaeans.
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 cast thee forth, And thy mother that bore thee, Into a foreign land, 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.
To the land to which they desire 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 then this man Coniah a contemptible broken vessel? Is he a vessel which no man careth for? Wherefore are he and his offspring cast forth, And thrown into a land which they know not?”
29 Land, Land, Land! Hear the word of Yahweh!
O land, land, land, hear the word of Jehovah!
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 saith Jehovah: Write ye this man childless, A man that shall not be prosperous through his life; For none of his offspring shall prosper, So as to sit on the throne of David, And reign hereafter in Judah.
