Jeremiah 22

1 Thus says the Lord: "Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word,2 and say, 'Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates.3 Thus says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.4 For if you will indeed obey this word, then there shall enter the gates of this house kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their servants and their people.5 But if you will not obey these words, I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.

6 For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah:
"'You are like Gilead to me,
like the summit of Lebanon,
yet surely I will make you a desert,
an uninhabited city.t
7  I will prepare destroyers against you,
each with his weapons,
and they shall cut down your choicest cedars
and cast them into the fire.

8 "'And many nations will pass by this city, and every man will say to his neighbor, "Why has the Lord dealt thus with this great city?"9 And they will answer, "Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and worshiped other gods and served them."'"

10  Weep not for him who is dead,
nor grieve for him,
but weep bitterly for him who goes away,
for he shall return no more
to see his native land.

Message to the Sons of Josiah

11 For thus says the Lord concerning Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, and who went away from this place: "He shall return here no more,12 but in the place where they have carried him captive, there shall he die, and he shall never see this land again."

13  "Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness,
and his upper rooms by injustice,
who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing
and does not give him his wages,
14  who says, 'I will build myself a great house
with spacious upper rooms,'
who cuts out windows for it,
paneling it with cedar
and painting it with vermilion.
15  Do you think you are a king
because you compete in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink
and do justice and righteousness?
Then it was well with him.
16  He judged the cause of the poor and needy;
then it was well.
Is not this to know me?
declares the Lord.
17  But you have eyes and heart
only for your dishonest gain,
for shedding innocent blood,
and for practicing oppression and violence."

18 Therefore thus says 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 majesty!'
19  With the burial of a donkey he shall be buried,
dragged and dumped beyond the gates of Jerusalem."

20  "Go up to Lebanon, and cry out,
and lift up your voice in Bashan;
cry out from Abarim,
for all your lovers are destroyed.
21  I spoke to you in your prosperity,
but you said, 'I will not listen.'
This has been your way from your youth,
that you have not obeyed my voice.
22  The wind shall shepherd all your shepherds,
and your lovers shall go into captivity;
then you will be ashamed and confounded
because of all your evil.
23  O inhabitant of Lebanon,
nested among the cedars,
how you will be pitied when pangs come upon you,
pain as of a woman in labor!"

24 "As I live, declares the Lord, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet ring on my right hand, yet I would tear you off25 and give you into the hand of those who seek your life, into the hand of those of whom you are afraid, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans.26 I will hurl you and the mother who bore you into another country, where you were not born, and there you shall die.27 But to the land to which they will long to return, there they shall not return."

28  Is this man Coniah a despised, broken pot,
a vessel no one cares for?
Why are he and his children hurled and cast
into a land that they do not know?
29  O land, land, land,
hear the word of the Lord!
30  Thus says the Lord:
"Write this man down as childless,
a man who shall not succeed in his days,
for none of his offspring shall succeed
in sitting on the throne of David
and ruling again in Judah."

Jeremiah 22

1 The Lord told me,t “Go downs to the palace of the king of Judah. Give him a message from me there.t2 Say: ‘Listen, O king of Judah who follows in David’s succession.t You, your officials, and your subjects who pass through the gates of this palace must listen to what the Lord says.t3 The Lord says, “Do what is just and right. Deliver those who have been robbed from thoset who oppress them. Do not exploit or mistreat foreigners who live in your land, children who have no fathers, or widows.ts Do not kill innocent peoplets in this land.4 If you are careful tot obey these commands, then the kings who follow in David’s succession and ride in chariots or on horses will continue to come through the gates of this palace, as will their officials and their subjects.t

5 But, if you do not obey these commands, I solemnly swears that this palace will become a pile of rubble. I, the Lord, affirm it!”t

6 “‘For the Lord says concerning the palace of the king of Judah,
“This place looks like a veritable forest of Gilead to me.
It is like the wooded heights of Lebanon in my eyes.
But I swear that I will make it like a wilderness
whose towns have all been deserted.ts

7 I will send men against it to destroy its
with their axes and hatchets.
They will hack up its fine cedar panels and columns
and throw them into the fire.
8 “‘People from other nations will pass by this city. They will ask one another, “Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?”

9 The answer will come back, “It is because they broke their covenant with the Lord their God and worshiped and served other gods.”

Judgment on Jehoahaz

10 “‘Do not weep for the king who was killed.
Do not grieve for him.
But weep mournfully for the king who has gone into exile.
For he will never return to see his native land again.ts
11 “‘For the Lord has spoken about Shallum son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but was carried off into exile. He has said, “He will never return to this land.t

12 For he will die in the country where they took him as a captive. He will never see this land again.”s

Judgment on Jehoiakim

13 “‘Sure to be judgeds is the king who builds his palace using injustice
and treats people unfairly while adding its upper rooms.ts
He makes his countrymen work for him for nothing.
He does not pay them for their labor.

14 He says, “I will build myself a large palace
with spacious upper rooms.”
He cuts windows in its walls,
panels its with cedar, and paints its rooms red.t

15 Does it make you any more of a king
that you outstrip everyone else int building with cedar?
Just think about your father.
He was content that he had food and drink.t
He did what was just and right.s
So things went well with him.

16 He upheld the cause of the poor and needy.
So things went well for Judah.’t
The Lord says,
‘That is a good example of what it means to know me.’ts

17 But you are always thinking and looking
for ways to increase your wealth by dishonest means.
Your eyes and your heart are set
on killing some innocent person
and committing fraud and oppression.t

18 Sos the Lord has this to say about Josiah’s son, King Jehoiakim of Judah:
People will not mourn for him, saying,
“This makes me sad, my brother!
This makes me sad, my sister!”
They will not mourn for him, saying,
“Poor, poor lord! Poor, poor majesty!”t

19 He will be left unburied just like a dead donkey.
His body will be dragged off and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.’”ss

Warning to Jerusalem

20 People of Jerusalem,ts go up to Lebanon and cry out in mourning.
Go to the land of Bashan and cry out loudly.
Cry out in mourning from the mountains of Moab.t
For your alliests have all been defeated.

21 While you were feeling secure I gave you warning.t
But you said, “I refuse to listen to you.”
That is the way you have acted from your earliest history onward.t
Indeed, you have never paid attention to me.

22 My judgment will carry off all your leaders like a storm wind!t
Your allies will go into captivity.
Then you will certainlyt be disgraced and put to shame
because of all the wickedness you have done.

23 You may feel as secure as a bird
nesting in the cedars of Lebanon.
But oh how yout will groant when the pains of judgment come on you.
They will be like those of a woman giving birth to a baby.s

Jeconiah Will Be Permanently Exiled

24 The Lord says,t
“As surely as I am the living God, you, Jeconiah,ts king of Judah, son of Jehoiakim, will not be the earthly representative of my authority. Indeed, I will take that right away from you.ts25 I will hand you over to those who want to take your life and of whom you are afraid. I will hand you over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his Babyloniant soldiers.26 I will force you and your mother who gave you birth into exile. You will be exiled tot a country where neither of you were born, and you will both die there.

27 You will never come back to this land to which you will long to return!”t

28 This man, Jeconiah, will be like a broken pot someone threw away.
He will be like a clay vesselt that no one wants.ts
Why will he and his children be forced into exile?
Why will they be thrown out into a country they know nothing about?s

29 O land of Judah, land of Judah, land of Judah!t
Listen to what the Lord has to say!

30 The Lord says,
“Enroll this man in the register as though he were childless.ts
Enroll him as a man who will not enjoy success during his lifetime.
For none of his sons will succeed in occupying the throne of David
or ever succeed in ruling over Judah.”