Jeremiah 22
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.
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Jeremiah 22: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 22
22
Judgment Against Evil Kings
1This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah. Prophesy this message there: 2‘Hear the word of the Lord, king of Judah. You rule from David’s throne. You and your officers, listen well! All of your people who come through these gates, listen! 3This is what the Lord says: Do what is fair and right. Protect those who have been robbed from those who robbed them. Don’t do any wrong to the orphans or widows. Don’t hurt them. Don’t kill innocent people here. 4If you carefully obey these commands, this is what will happen: Kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace. They will come with their officers and people. They will all come riding in chariots and on horses. 5But if you don’t obey these commands, this is what the Lord says: I promise in 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:
“This palace is tall like the forests of Gilead.
It is high like the mountains of Lebanon.
But I will truly make it like a desert.
It will be empty like towns where no one lives.
7I will send men to destroy the palace.
Each man will have his weapons with him.
They will cut up your strong, beautiful cedar beams.
And they will throw them into the fire.
8“People from many nations will pass by this city. They will ask each other, ‘Why has the Lord done such a terrible thing to Jerusalem? This was such a great city.’ 9And the answer will be: ‘It was 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 king who has died. Don’t cry loudly for him.
But cry painfully for the king who is being taken away from here.
Cry for him because he will never come back again.
He will never see his homeland again.
11This is what the Lord says about Jehoahaz son of Josiah. Jehoahaz became king of Judah after his father died. He has left this place. The Lord says, “He will never come back again. 12He will die where those who captured him have taken him. He will not see this land again.”
Judgment Against Jehoiakim
13“How terrible it will be for him who builds his palace by doing evil.
He cheats people so he can build its upper rooms.
He is making his own people work for nothing.
He is not paying them for their work.
14He says, ‘I will build a great palace for myself.
I will have large upper rooms.’
So he builds the palace with large windows.
He uses cedar wood for the walls.
And he paints it 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’s what it means to know God,” says the Lord.
17“But your eyes only look for what you can get dishonestly.
You are always thinking about getting more for yourself.
You are even willing to kill innocent people to get it.
You are making it hard for people.
You even steal things from them.”
18So this is what the Lord says to Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
“The people of Judah will not cry loudly when Jehoiakim dies.
They will not say, ‘Oh, my brother, I am so sad!
Oh, my sister, I am so sad!’
The people of Judah will not cry for him, saying:
‘Oh, master, oh, my king.’
19The people of Jerusalem will bury him like a donkey.
They will just drag his body away.
Then they will throw 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.
All your friends are destroyed!
21Judah, when you were successful, I warned you.
But you refused to listen.
You have acted like this since you were young.
You have not obeyed me.
22My punishment will come like a storm.
And it will blow all your shepherds away.
Your friends will be taken away as captives.
Then you will really be ashamed.
You will be disgraced because of all the wicked things you did.
23King, you live in your palace.
You are cozy in your rooms of cedar.
But you will groan when your punishment comes.
You will hurt like a woman giving birth to a baby!
Judgment upon Jehoiachin
24“As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “I will do this to you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah: Even if you were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off. 25Jehoiachin, I will give you to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And I will hand you over to the Babylonians. Those are the people you are afraid of 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. 27You will want to come back. But you 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?
Why will they be thrown into a foreign land?
29Land, land, land of Judah,
hear the word of the Lord!
30This is what the Lord says:
“Write this down about Jehoiachin:
He is a man who is to have no children.
He will not be successful in his lifetime.
And none of his children will be successful.
None of his children will sit on the throne of David.
They will not rule in Judah.”
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