Jeremiah 22

Judgment Against Evil Kings

1 This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there:2 ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, you who sit on David's throne—you, your officials and your people who come through these gates.3 This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.4 For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David's throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people.

5 But if you do not obey these commands, declares the Lord, I swear by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’ ”

6 For this is what the Lord says about the palace of the king of Judah:
“Though you are like Gilead to me,
like the summit of Lebanon,
I will surely make you like a desert,
like towns not inhabited.

7 I will send destroyers against you,
each man with his weapons,
and they will cut up your fine cedar beams
and throw them into the fire.
8 “People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’

9 And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’ ”

10 Do not weep for the dead king or mourn his loss;
rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled,
because he will never return
nor see his native land again. 11 For this is what the Lord says about Shallum son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but has gone from this place: “He will never return.

12 He will die in the place where they have led him captive; he will not see this land again.”

13 “Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness,
his upper rooms by injustice,
making his countrymen work for nothing,
not paying them for their labor.

14 He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace
with spacious upper rooms.’
So he makes large windows in it,
panels it with cedar
and decorates it in red.

15 “Does it make you a king
to have more and more cedar?
Did not your father have food and drink?
He did what was right and just,
so all went well with him.

16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy,
and so all went well.
Is that not what it means to know me?”
declares the Lord.

17 “But your eyes and your heart
are set only on dishonest gain,
on shedding innocent blood
and on oppression and extortion.”

18 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
“They will not mourn for him:
‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’
They will not mourn for him:
‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’

19 He will have the burial of a donkey—
dragged away and thrown
outside the gates of Jerusalem.”

20 “Go up to Lebanon and cry out,
let your voice be heard in Bashan,
cry out from Abarim,
for all your allies are crushed.

21 I warned you when you felt secure,
but you said, ‘I will not listen!’
This has been your way from your youth;
you have not obeyed me.

22 The wind will drive all your shepherds away,
and your allies will go into exile.
Then you will be ashamed and disgraced
because of all your wickedness.

23 You who live in ‘Lebanon,’
who are nestled in cedar buildings,
how you will groan when pangs come upon you,
pain like that of a woman in labor!
24 “As surely as I live,” declares the Lord, “even if you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off.25 I will hand you over to those who seek your life, those you fear—to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Babylonians.26 I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die.

27 You will never come back to the land you long to return to.”

28 Is this man Jehoiachin a despised, broken pot,
an object no one wants?
Why will he and his children be hurled out,
cast into a land they do not know?

29 O land, land, land,
hear the word of the Lord!

30 This is what the Lord says:
“Record this man as if childless,
a man who will not prosper in his lifetime,
for none of his offspring will prosper,
none will sit on the throne of David
or rule anymore in 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.