Jeremiah 22
22
Judgment Against Evil Kings
1The Lord said, “Jeremiah, go down to the king’s palace. Go to the king of Judah and tell this message there: 2‘Listen to this message from the Lord, King of Judah. You rule from David’s throne, so listen. King, you and your officials must listen well. All of your people who come through the gates of Jerusalem must listen to the message from the Lord. 3This is what the Lord says: Do what is right and fair. Protect those who have been robbed from the ones who robbed them. Don’t hurt or do anything wrong to orphans or widows. Don’t kill innocent people. 4If you obey these commands, kings who sit on David’s throne will continue to come through the gates into the city of Jerusalem. They will come through the gates with their officials. The kings, their officials, and their people will come riding in chariots and on horses. 5But I, the Lord, tell you that if you don’t obey these commands, then I promise with an oath in my own name that this king’s palace will be destroyed—it will become a pile of rocks.’”
6This is what the Lord says about the palace where the king of Judah lives:
“The palace is tall like the forests of Gilead,
like the mountains of Lebanon.
But I will make it like a desert,
as empty as a city where no one lives.
7I will send men to destroy the palace,
each armed with 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. They will ask one another, ‘Why has the Lord done such a terrible thing to Jerusalem? Jerusalem was such a great city.’ 9This will be the answer to that question: ‘God destroyed Jerusalem because the people of Judah stopped following the agreement of the Lord their God. They worshiped and served other gods.’”
Judgment Against King Jehoahaz
10Don’t cry for the king who has died.#22:10 the king who has died That is, King Josiah who was killed in battle against the Egyptians in 609 B.C.
Don’t cry for him.
But cry very hard for the king
who must leave this place.#22:10 the king … place This means Josiah’s son, Jehoahaz. He became king after Josiah died. He is also called Shallum. King Neco of Egypt defeated Josiah. And Neco took Jehoahaz off the throne of Judah and made him a prisoner in Egypt.
Cry for him because he will never return
or see his homeland again.
11This is what the Lord says about Jehoahaz#22:11 Jehoahaz The Hebrew text has “Shallum,” another name for Jehoahaz. son of Josiah, who became king of Judah after his father Josiah died: “Jehoahaz has gone away from Jerusalem. He will never return. 12Jehoahaz will die in the place where the Egyptians have taken him, and he will not see this land again.”
Judgment Against King Jehoiakim
13“It will be very bad for King Jehoiakim.
He is doing wrong so that he can build his palace.
He is cheating people so that he can build rooms upstairs.
He is not paying his own people.
He is making them work for nothing.
14“Jehoiakim says,
‘I will build myself a great palace, with huge rooms upstairs.’
So he built it with large windows.
He used cedar wood for paneling, and he painted it red.
15“Jehoiakim, having a lot of cedar in your house
does not make you a great king.
Your father Josiah was satisfied to have food and drink.
He did what was right and fair,
so everything went well for him.
16Josiah helped poor and needy people,
so everything went well for him.
Jehoiakim, what does it mean “to know God”?
It means living right and being fair.
That is what it means to know me.
This message is from the Lord.
17“Jehoiakim, your eyes look only for what benefits yourself.
You are always thinking about getting more for yourself.
You are willing to kill innocent people.
You are willing to steal things from other people.”
18So this is what the Lord says to King Jehoiakim son of Josiah:
“The people of Judah will not cry for Jehoiakim.
They will not say to each other, ‘Brother, I am so sad!
Sister, I am so sad!’
They will not cry for Jehoiakim.
They will not say about him, ‘Master, I am so sad!
King, I am so sad!’
19The people of Jerusalem will bury Jehoiakim like a donkey.
They will drag his body away and throw it outside the gates of Jerusalem.
20“Judah, go up to the mountains of Lebanon and cry out.
Let your voice be heard in the mountains of Bashan.
Cry out in the mountains of Abarim,
because all your ‘lovers’ will be destroyed.
21“Judah, you felt safe, but I warned you.
I warned you, but you refused to listen.
You have lived like this from the time you were young.
And from the time you were young,
you have not obeyed me, Judah.
22Judah, the punishment I give will come like a storm,
and it will blow all your shepherds away.
You thought some of the other nations would help you.
But these nations will also be defeated.
Then you will really be disappointed.
You will be ashamed of all the evil things you did.
23“King, you seem so safe in your palace of cedar.
It’s as if you live in Lebanon!#22:23 It’s as if … Lebanon The king’s palace in Jerusalem was built with wood from the mountains of Lebanon, which was famous for its cedar trees.
But when your punishment comes, you will groan.
You will be in pain like a woman giving birth!”
Judgment Against King 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 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the Babylonians. Those are the people you are afraid of. They want to kill you. 26I will throw you and your mother into another country where neither of you was born. You and your mother will die in that country. 27Jehoiachin, you will want to come back to your land, but you will never be allowed to come back.”
28Jehoiachin is like a broken pot that someone threw away.
He is like a pot that no one wants.
Why will Jehoiachin and his children be thrown out
and sent away into a foreign land?
29Land, land, land of Judah!
Listen to this message from the Lord!
30The Lord says, “Write this down about Jehoiachin:
‘He does not have children anymore!
Jehoiachin will not be successful
because none of his children will sit on the throne of David.
None of his children will rule in Judah.’”
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
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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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.