Jeremias (Jeremiah) 22
22
1Thus saith the Lord: Go down to the house of the king of Juda, and there thou shalt speak this word,
2And thou shalt say: Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Juda, that sittest upon the throne of David: thou and thy servants and thy people, who enter in by these gates.
3Thus saith the Lord: Execute judgement and justice: and deliver him that is oppressed out of the hand of the oppressor: and afflict not the stranger, the fatherless and the widow, nor oppress them unjustly: and shed not innocent blood in this place.
4For if you will do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings of the race of David, sitting upon his throne and riding in chariots and on horses, they and their servants and their people.
5But if you will not hearken to these words, I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.
6For thus saith the Lord to the house of the king of Juda: Thou art to me Galaad, the head of Libanus: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness and cities not habitable.
7And I will prepare against thee the destroyer and his weapons: and they shall cut down thy chosen cedars and shall cast them headlong into the fire.
8And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour: Why hath the Lord done so to this great city?
9And they shall answer: Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have adored strange gods and served them.
10Weep not for him that is dead nor bemoan him with your tears: lament him that goeth away, for he shall return no more nor see his native country.
11For thus saith the Lord to Sellum the son of Josias, the king of Juda, who reigned instead of his father, who went forth out of this place: He shall return hither no more.
12But in the place to which I have removed him, there shall he die: and he shall not see this land any more.
13Woe to him that buildeth up his house by injustice, and his chambers not in judgement: that will oppress his friend without cause and will not pay him his wages.
14Who saith: I will build me a wide house and large chambers: who openeth to himself windows and maketh roofs of cedar and painteth them with vermilion.
15Shalt thou reign, because thou comparest thyself to the cedar? Did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and it was then well with him?
16He judged the cause of the poor and needy for his own good. Was it not therefore because he knew me, saith the Lord?
17But thy eyes and thy heart are set upon covetousness and upon shedding innocent blood and upon oppression and running after evil works.
18Therefore, thus saith the Lord concerning Joakim the son of Josias king of Juda: They shall not mourn for him, Alas, my brother, and Alas, sister: they shall not lament for him, Alas, my Lord, or, Alas, the noble one.
19He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, rotten and cast forth without the gates of Jerusalem.
20Go up to Libanus and cry: and lift up thy voice in Basan and cry to them that pass by, for all thy lovers are destroyed.
21I spoke to thee in thy properity: and thou saidst: I will not hear. This hath been thy way from thy youth, because thou hast not heard my voice.
22The wind shall feed all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: and then shalt thou be confounded and ashamed of all thy wickedness.
23Thou that sittest in Libanus and makest thy nest in the cedars, how hast thou mourned when sorrows came upon thee, as the pains of a woman in labour?
24As I live, saith the Lord, if Jechonias the son of Joakim, the king of Juda, were a ring on my right hand, I would pluck him thence.
25And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, and into the hand of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
26And I will send thee, and thy mother that bore thee, into a strange country, in which you were not born: and there you shall die.
27And they shall not return into the land, whereunto they lift up their mind to return thither.
28Is this man Jechonias an earthen and a broken vessel? Is he a vessel wherein there is no pleasure? Why are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?
29O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord.
30Thus saith the Lord: Write this man barren, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for there shall not be a man of his seed that shall sit upon the throne of David and have power any more in Juda.
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Jeremias (Jeremiah) 22: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
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.