Jeremiah 22

Chapter 22

A Message for Judah’s Kings

1 This is what the LORD said to me: “Go over and speak directly to the king of Judah. Say to him,2 ‘Listen to this message from the LORD, you king of Judah, sitting on David’s throne. Let your attendants and your people listen, too.3 This is what the LORD says: Be fair-minded and just. Do what is right! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Quit your evil deeds! Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows. Stop murdering the innocent!4 If you obey me, there will always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne here in Jerusalem. The king will ride through the palace gates in chariots and on horses, with his parade of attendants and subjects.

5 But if you refuse to pay attention to this warning, I swear by my own name, says the LORD, that this palace will become a pile of rubble.’”

A Message about the Palace

6 Now this is what the LORD says concerning Judah’s royal palace:
“I love you as much as fruitful Gilead
and the green forests of Lebanon.
But I will turn you into a desert,
with no one living within your walls.7 I will call for wreckers,
who will bring out their tools to dismantle you.
They will tear out all your fine cedar beams
and throw them on the fire.8 “People from many nations will pass by the ruins of this city and say to one another, ‘Why did the LORD destroy such a great city?’

9 And the answer will be, ‘Because they violated their covenant with the LORD their God by worshiping other gods.’”

A Message about Jehoahaz

10 Do not weep for the dead king or mourn his loss.
Instead, weep for the captive king being led away!
For he will never return to see his native land again.11 For this is what the LORD says about Jehoahaz,t who succeeded his father, King Josiah, and was taken away as a captive: “He will never return.

12 He will die in a distant land and will never again see his own country.”

A Message about Jehoiakim

13 And the LORD says, “What sorrow awaits Jehoiakim,t
who builds his palace with forced labor.t
He builds injustice into its walls,
for he makes his neighbors work for nothing.
He does not pay them for their labor.14 He says, ‘I will build a magnificent palace
with huge rooms and many windows.
I will panel it throughout with fragrant cedar
and paint it a lovely red.’15 But a beautiful cedar palace does not make a great king!
Your father, Josiah, also had plenty to eat and drink.
But he was just and right in all his dealings.
That is why God blessed him.16 He gave justice and help to the poor and needy,
and everything went well for him.
Isn’t that what it means to know me?”
says the LORD.17 “But you! You have eyes only for greed and dishonesty!
You murder the innocent,
oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly.”

18 Therefore, this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim, son of King Josiah:
“The people will not mourn for him, crying to one another,
‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’
His subjects will not mourn for him, crying,
‘Alas, our master is dead! Alas, his splendor is gone!’19 He will be buried like a dead donkey—
dragged out of Jerusalem and dumped outside the gates!20 Weep for your allies in Lebanon.
Shout for them in Bashan.
Search for them in the regions east of the river.t
See, they are all destroyed.
Not one is left to help you.21 I warned you when you were prosperous,
but you replied, ‘Don’t bother me.’
You have been that way since childhood—
you simply will not obey me!22 And now the wind will blow away your allies.
All your friends will be taken away as captives.
Surely then you will see your wickedness and be ashamed.23 It may be nice to live in a beautiful palace
paneled with wood from the cedars of Lebanon,
but soon you will groan with pangs of anguish—
anguish like that of a woman in labor.

A Message for Jehoiachin

24 “As surely as I live,” says the LORD, “I will abandon you, Jehoiachint son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah. Even if you were the signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off.25 I will hand you over to those who seek to kill you, those you so desperately fear—to King Nebuchadnezzart of Babylon and the mighty Babyloniant army.26 I will expel you and your mother from this land, and you will die in a foreign country, not in your native land.

27 You will never again return to the land you yearn for.
28 “Why is this man Jehoiachin like a discarded, broken jar?
Why are he and his children to be exiled to a foreign land?29 O earth, earth, earth!
Listen to this message from the LORD!30 This is what the LORD says:
‘Let the record show that this man Jehoiachin was childless.
He is a failure,
for none of his children will succeed him on the throne of David
to rule over Judah.’

JEREMIAH 22

The [Lord] Will Punish //the King of Judah

1-3 The [Lord] sent me to the palace of the king of Judah to speak to the king, his officials, and everyone else who was there. The [Lord] told me to say:
I am the [Lord], so pay attention! You have been allowing people to cheat, rob, and take advantage of widows, orphans, and foreigners who live here. Innocent people have become victims of injustice, and some of them have even been killed. But now I command you to do what is right and see that justice is done. Rescue everyone who has suffered from injustice.
4 If you obey me, the kings from David's family will continue to rule Judah from this palace. They and their officials will ride in and out on their horses or in their chariots. 5 t But if you ignore me, I promise in my own name that this palace will lie in ruins.

6 Listen to what I think about it:
The palace of Judah's king
is as glorious as Gilead
or Lebanon's highest peaks.
But it will be as empty
as a ghost-town
when I'm through with it.

7 I'll send troops to tear it apart,
and its beautiful cedar beams
will be used for firewood.
8 People from different nations will pass by and ask, “Why did the [Lord] do this to such a great city as Jerusalem?”

9 Others will answer, “It's because the people worshiped foreign gods and broke the agreement that the [Lord] their God had made with them.”

King Jehoahaz

The [Lord] said:

10 King Josiah is dead,
so don't mourn for him.t
Instead, mourn for his son
King Jehoahaz,
dragged off to another country, t
never to return.

11-12  t Jehoahazt became king of Judah after his father King Josiah died. But Jehoahaz was taken as a prisoner to a foreign country. Now I, the [Lord], promise that he will die there without ever seeing his own land again.

King Jehoiakim

The [Lord] told me to say:

13 King Jehoiakim, t you are doomed!
You built a palace
with large rooms upstairs.

14 You put in big windows
and used cedar paneling
and red paint.
But you were unfair
and forced the builders to work
without pay.
*

15 More cedar in your palace
doesn't make you a better king
than your father Josiah.
He always did right—
he gave justice to the poor
and was honest.

16 That's what it means
to truly know me.
So he lived a comfortable life
and always had enough
to eat and drink.

17 But all you think about
is how to cheat
or abuse or murder
some innocent victim.

18  t Jehoiakim, no one will mourn
at your funeral.
They won't turn to each other
and ask,
“Why did our great king
have to die?”

19 You will be given a burial
fit for a donkey;
your body will be dragged
outside the city gates
and tossed in the dirt.
I, the [Lord], have spoken.

King Jehoiachin and the People //of Jerusalem

The [Lord] told me to say:

20 People of Jerusalem,
the nationst you trusted
have been crushed.
Go to Lebanon and weep;
cry in the land of Bashan
and in Moab.

21 When times were good,
I warned you.
But you ignored me,
just as you have done
since Israel was young.

22 Now you will be disgraced
because of your sins.
Your leaders will be swept away
by the wind,
and the nations you trusted
will be captured and dragged
to a foreign country.

23 Those who live in the palace
paneled with cedart
will groan with pain
like women giving birth.
24  t King Jehoiachin, t son of Jehoiakim, t even if you were the ring I wear as the sign of my royal power, I would still pull you from my finger. 25 I would hand you over to the enemy you fear, to King Nebuchadnezzart and his army, who want to kill you. 26 You and your mothert were born in Judah, but I will throw both of you into a foreign country, where you will die,

27 longing to return home.

28 Jehoiachin, you are unwanted
like a broken clay pot.
So you and your children
will be thrown into a country
you know nothing about.

29 Land of Judah, I am the [Lord].
Now listen to what I say!

30 Erase the names
of Jehoiachin's children
from the royal records.
He is a complete failure,
and so none of them
will ever be king.
I, the [Lord], have spoken.