Jeremiah 22
22
Judgment Against Evil Kings
1This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and prophesy this message there: 2‘Hear the word of the Lord, king of Judah, who rules from David’s throne. You and your officers, and your people who come through these gates, listen! 3This is what the Lord says: Do what is fair and right. Save the one who has been robbed from the power of his attacker. Don’t mistreat or hurt the foreigners, orphans, or widows. Don’t kill innocent people here. 4If you carefully obey these commands, kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace with their officers and people, riding in chariots and on horses. 5But if you don’t obey these commands, says the Lord, I swear by my own name that this king’s palace will become a ruin.’ ”
6This is what the Lord says about the palace where the king of Judah lives:
“You are tall like the forests of Gilead,
like the mountaintops of Lebanon.
But I will truly make you into a desert,
into towns where no one lives.
7I will send men to destroy the palace,
each with his weapons.
They will cut up your strong, beautiful cedar beams
and throw them into the fire.
8“People from many nations will pass by this city and ask each other, ‘Why has the Lord done such a terrible thing to Jerusalem, this great city?’ 9And the answer will be: ‘Because the people of Judah quit following the agreement with the Lord their God. They worshiped and served other gods.’ ”
Judgment Against Jehoahaz
10Don’t cry for the dead king or be sad about him.
But cry painfully for the king who is being taken away,
because he will never return
or see his homeland again.
11This is what the Lord says about Jehoahaz son of Josiah who became king of Judah after his father died and who has left this place: “He will never return. 12He will die where he has been taken captive, and he will not see this land again.”
Judgment Against Jehoiakim
13“How terrible it will be for one who builds his palace by doing evil,
who cheats people so he can build its upper rooms.
He makes his own people work for nothing
and does not pay them.
14He says, ‘I will build a great palace for myself
with large upper rooms.’
So he builds it with large windows
and uses cedar wood for the walls,
which he paints red.
15“Does having a lot of cedar in your house
make you a great king?
Your father was satisfied to have food and drink.
He did what was right and fair,
so everything went well for him.
16He helped those who were poor and needy,
so everything went well for him.
That is what it means to know God,”
says the Lord.
17“But you only look for and think about
what you can get dishonestly.
You are even willing to kill innocent people to get it.
You feel free to hurt people and to steal from them.”
18So this is what the Lord says to Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
“The people of Judah will not cry when Jehoiakim dies,
saying: ‘Oh, my brother,’ or ‘Oh, my sister.’
They will not cry for him, saying:
‘Oh, master,’ or ‘Oh, my king.’
19They will bury him like a donkey,
dragging his body away
and throwing it outside the gates of Jerusalem.
20“Judah, go up to Lebanon and cry out.
Let your voice be heard in Bashan.
Cry out from Abarim,
because all your friends are destroyed!
21Judah, when you were successful, I warned you,
but you said, ‘I won’t listen.’
You have acted like this since you were young;
you have not obeyed me.
22Like a storm, my punishment will blow all your shepherds away
and send your friends into captivity.
Then you will really be ashamed and disgraced
because of all the wicked things you did.
23King, you live in your palace,
cozy in your rooms of cedar.
But when your punishment comes, how you will groan
like a woman giving birth to a baby!
Judgment upon Jehoiachin
24“As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, even if you were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off. 25I will hand you over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Babylonians—those people you fear because they want to kill you. 26I will throw you and your mother into another country. Neither of you was born there, but both of you will die there. 27They will want to come back, but they will never be able to return.”
28Jehoiachin is like a broken pot someone threw away;
he is like something no one wants.
Why will Jehoiachin and his children be thrown out
and sent into a foreign land?
29Land, land, land of Judah,
hear the word of the Lord!
30This is what the Lord says:
“Write this down in the record about Jehoiachin:
He is a man without children,
a man who will not be successful in his lifetime.
And none of his descendants will be successful;
none will sit on the throne of David
or rule in Judah.”
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Jeremiah 22: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 22
22
Jeremiah's Message to the Royal House of Judah
1-2The LORD told me to go to the palace of the king of Judah, the descendant of David, and there tell the king, his officials, and the people of Jerusalem to listen to what the LORD had said: 3“I, the LORD, command you to do what is just and right. Protect the person who is being cheated from the one who is cheating him. Do not ill-treat or oppress foreigners, orphans, or widows; and do not kill innocent people in this holy place. 4If you really do as I have commanded, then David's descendants will continue to be kings. And they, together with their officials and their people, will continue to pass through the gates of this palace in chariots and on horses. 5#Mt 23.38; Lk 13.35But if you do not obey my commands, then I swear to you that this palace will fall into ruins. I, the LORD, have spoken.
6“To me, Judah's royal palace is as beautiful as the land of Gilead and as the Lebanon Mountains; but I will make it a desolate place where no one lives. 7I am sending men to destroy it. They will all bring their axes, cut down its beautiful cedar pillars, and throw them into the fire.
8“Afterwards many foreigners will pass by and ask one another why I, the LORD, have done such a thing to this great city. 9Then they will answer that it is because you have abandoned your covenant with me, your God, and have worshipped and served other gods.”
Jeremiah's Message concerning Joahaz
10People of Judah, do not weep for King Josiah;
do not mourn his death.
But weep bitterly for Joahaz, his son;
they are taking him away, never to return,
never again to see the land where he was born.
11 #
2 Kgs 23.31–34; 2 Chr 36.1–4 The LORD says concerning Josiah's son Joahaz, who succeeded his father as king of Judah, “He has gone away from here, never to return. 12He will die in the country where they have taken him, and he will never again see this land.”
Jeremiah's Message concerning Jehoiakim
13Doomed is the man who builds his house by injustice
and enlarges it by dishonesty;
who makes his countrymen work for nothing
and does not pay their wages.
14Doomed is the one who says,
“I will build myself a mansion
with spacious rooms upstairs.”
So he puts windows in his house,
panels it with cedar,
and paints it red.
15Does it make you a better king
if you build houses of cedar,
finer than those of others?
Your father enjoyed a full life.
He was always just and fair,
and he prospered in everything he did.
16He gave the poor a fair trial,
and all went well with him.
That is what it means to know the LORD.
17But you can only see your selfish interests;
you kill the innocent
and violently oppress your people.
The LORD has spoken.
18 #
2 Kgs 23.36—24.6; 2 Chr 36.5–7 So then, the LORD says about Josiah's son Jehoiakim, king of Judah,
“No one will mourn his death or say,
‘How terrible, my friend, how terrible!’
No one will weep for him or cry,
‘My lord! My king!’
19With the funeral honours of a donkey,
he will be dragged away
and thrown outside Jerusalem's gates.”
Jeremiah's Message about the Fate of Jerusalem
20People of Jerusalem, go to Lebanon and shout,
go to the land of Bashan and cry;
call out from the mountains of Moab,
because all your allies have been defeated.
21The LORD spoke to you when you were prosperous,
but you refused to listen.
That is what you've done all your life;
you never would obey the LORD.
22Your leaders will be blown away by the wind,
your allies taken as prisoners of war,
your city disgraced and put to shame
because of all the evil you have done.
23You rest secure among the cedars brought from Lebanon;
but how pitiful you'll be when pains strike you,
pains like those of a woman in labour.
God's Judgement on Jehoiachin
24 #
2 Kgs 24.8–15; 2 Chr 36.9–10 The LORD said to King Jehoiachin, son of King Jehoiakim of Judah, “As surely as I am the living God, even if you were the signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off 25and give you to people you are afraid of, people who want to kill you. I will give you to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia and his soldiers. 26I am going to force you and your mother into exile. You will go to a country where neither of you was born, and both of you will die there. 27You will long to see this country again, but you will never return.”
28I said, “Has King Jehoiachin become like a broken jar that is thrown away and that no one wants? Is that why he and his children have been taken into exile to a land they know nothing about?”
29O land, land, land!
Listen to what the LORD has said:
30“This man is condemned to lose his children,
to be a man who will never succeed.
He will have no descendants
who will rule in Judah
as David's successors.
I, the LORD, have spoken.”
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.