Jeremiah 22

Exhortation to Repent

1Thus says the Lord: Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, 2and say: Hear the word of the Lord, O King of Judah sitting on the throne of David—you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates. 3Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place. 4For if you will indeed obey this word, then through the gates of this house shall enter kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their servants, and their people. 5But if you will not heed these words, I swear by myself, says the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation. 6For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah:

You are like Gilead to me,

like the summit of Lebanon;

but I swear that I will make you a desert,

an uninhabited city.#22.6 Cn: Heb uninhabited cities

7I will prepare destroyers against you,

all with their weapons;

they shall cut down your choicest cedars

and cast them into the fire.

8And many nations will pass by this city, and all of them will say one to another, “Why has the Lord dealt in this way with that great city?” 9And they will answer, “Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshiped other gods and served them.”

10Do not weep for him who is dead,

nor bemoan him;

weep rather for him who goes away,

for he shall return no more

to see his native land.

Message to the Sons of Josiah

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

13Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness,

and his upper rooms by injustice;

who makes his neighbors work for nothing,

and does not give them their wages;

14who says, “I will build myself a spacious house

with large upper rooms,”

and who cuts out windows for it,

paneling it with cedar,

and painting it with vermilion.

15Are you 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.

16He judged the cause of the poor and needy;

then it was well.

Is not this to know me?

says the Lord.

17But your eyes and heart

are only on your dishonest gain,

for shedding innocent blood,

and for practicing oppression and violence.

18Therefore thus says the Lord concerning King Jehoiakim son of Josiah 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 majesty!”

19With the burial of a donkey he shall be buried—

dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

20Go up to Lebanon, and cry out,

and lift up your voice in Bashan;

cry out from Abarim,

for all your lovers are crushed.

21I spoke to you in your prosperity,

but you said, “I will not listen.”

This has been your way from your youth,

for you have not obeyed my voice.

22The wind shall shepherd all your shepherds,

and your lovers shall go into captivity;

then you will be ashamed and dismayed

because of all your wickedness.

23O inhabitant of Lebanon,

nested among the cedars,

how you will groan#22.23 Gk Vg Syr: Heb will be pitied when pangs come upon you,

pain as of a woman in labor!

Judgment on Coniah (Jehoiachin)

24As I live, says the Lord, even if King Coniah son of Jehoiakim of Judah were the signet ring on my right hand, even from there I would tear you off 25and give you into the hands of those who seek your life, into the hands of those of whom you are afraid, even into the hands of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon and into the hands of the Chaldeans. 26I will hurl you and the mother who bore you into another country, where you were not born, and there you shall die. 27But they shall not return to the land to which they long to return.

28Is this man Coniah a despised broken pot,

a vessel no one wants?

Why are he and his offspring hurled out

and cast away in a land that they do not know?

29O land, land, land,

hear the word of the Lord!

30Thus says the Lord:

Record this man 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.

Currently Selected:

Jeremiah 22: NRSV

Highlight

Copy

Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in

Learn More About New Revised Standard Version

Jeremiah 22

The Lord Will Punish the King of Judah

1-3The 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.

4If 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#Mt 23.28; Lk 13.35. But if you ignore me, I promise in my own name that this palace will lie in ruins. 6Listen 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.

7I'll send troops to tear it apart,

and its beautiful cedar beams

will be used for firewood.

8People from different nations will pass by and ask, “Why did the Lord do this to such a great city as Jerusalem?” 9Others 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:

10King Josiah is dead,

so don't mourn for him.#22.10 King Josiah … him: The Hebrew text has “don't mourn for the dead one,” meaning King Josiah, who ruled 640–609 b.c.

Instead, mourn for his son

King Jehoahaz,

dragged off to another country,#22.10 his son King Jehoahaz … country: The Hebrew text has “the one who was dragged off to another country,” meaning King Jehoahaz, who ruled for three months in 609 b.c.

never to return.

11-12 # 2 K 23.31-34; 2 Ch 36.1-4. Jehoahaz#22.11,12 Jehoahaz: The Hebrew text has “Shallum,” another name for Jehoahaz. 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:

* 13King Jehoiakim,#22.13 Jehoiakim: See the note at 1.3. you are doomed!

You built a palace

with large rooms upstairs.

14You put in big windows

and used cedar paneling

and red paint.

But you were unfair

and forced the builders to work

without pay.

* 15More 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.

16That's what it means

to truly know me.

So he lived a comfortable life

and always had enough

to eat and drink.

17But all you think about

is how to cheat

or abuse or murder

some innocent victim.

18 # 2 K 23.36—24.6; 2 Ch 36.5-7. 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?”

19You 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:

20People of Jerusalem,

the nations#22.20 nations: Or “gods.” you trusted

have been crushed.

Go to Lebanon and weep;

cry in the land of Bashan

and in Moab.

21When times were good,

I warned you.

But you ignored me,

just as you have done

since Israel was young.

22Now 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.

23Those who live in the palace

paneled with cedar#22.23 who live in the palace paneled with cedar: The Hebrew text has “who live in Lebanon and who nest among the cedars,” which probably means Forest Hall in the royal palace at Jerusalem, which was paneled with cedar and had cedar columns and a cedar ceiling, all from Lebanon (see 1 Kings 7.2,3).

will groan with pain

like women giving birth.

24 # 2 K 24.8-15; 2 Ch 36.9,10. King Jehoiachin,#22.24 Jehoiachin: The Hebrew text has “Coniah,” another form of Jehoiachin's name; he ruled for three months in 598 b.c. son of Jehoiakim,#22.24 Jehoiakim: See the note at 1.3. even if you were the ring I wear as the sign of my royal power, I would still pull you from my finger. 25I would hand you over to the enemy you fear, to King Nebuchadnezzar#22.25 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2. and his army, who want to kill you. 26You and your mother#22.26 mother: See the note at 13.18. were born in Judah, but I will throw both of you into a foreign country, where you will die, 27longing to return home.

28Jehoiachin, you are unwanted

like a broken clay pot.

So you and your children

will be thrown into a country

you know nothing about.

29Land of Judah, I am the Lord.

Now listen to what I say!

30Erase 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.

Currently Selected:

Highlight

Copy

Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in

Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)

Learn More About Contemporary English Version