Jeremiah 22
22
1 Thus says Yahweh: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and you must speak this word there. 2And you must say, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people who enter through these gates. 3Thus says Yahweh, “Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been seized from the hand of the oppressor. And you must not oppress the immigrant, the orphan, and the widow. And you must not shed innocent blood in this place. 4And if you indeed obey this word, then kings who sit for David on his throne will enter through the gates of this house, riding in chariots#Hebrew “chariot” and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people. 5But if you do not obey these words, I swear by myself,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh, “that this house will become a site of ruins.” ’ ”
6For thus says Yahweh concerning the house of the king of Judah,
“You are like Gilead to me,
like the head of the Lebanon.
Surely#Literally “If not” I will make you a desert,#Or “wilderness”
like cities that are not inhabited.
7And I will consecrate against you destroyers,
everyone with his weapons,
and they will cut down your choicest cedars,#Literally “the choicest thing of your cedars”
and cast them#Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation on the fire.
8And many nations will pass by this city and they will say each one to his neighbor, ‘Why#Literally “Over what” has Yahweh done in this manner to this great city?’ 9Then they will answer, ‘Because they abandoned the covenant of Yahweh their God, and bowed down in worship to other gods, and served them.’ ”
10You must not weep for the dead person,
and you must not show sympathy for him.
Weep bitterly for the one who goes away,
for he will not return, or see the land of his birth again.
11For thus says Yahweh concerning Shallum, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, who reigned as king in place of Josiah his father, who went out from this place: “He will not return here again. 12But in the place where they have deported him, there he will die, and he will not see this land again.
13Woe to the one who builds his house without righteousness,
and his upper rooms without justice.
His fellow countryman, he works for nothing,
and he does not give to him his wages.#Hebrew “wage”
14Who says ‘I will build for myself
a spacious house with large upper rooms,’
and he cuts windows for it,
and it is#Here the subject is supplied from context in the English translation paneled with cedar,
and he paints it#Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation with vermilion.
15Do you reign as king because you are competing in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink,
and he did justice and righteousness,
then it was well with him?
16He judged the legal cause of the needy and the poor,
and then it was well.
Is that not what it means to know me?#Literally “Not that the knowledge me”” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
17“But there is nothing in your eyes and your heart
except#Literally “but if” your unlawful gain,
and on shedding the blood of the innocent,
and on committing oppression and extortion.”
18Therefore#Literally “To thus” thus says Yahweh concerning Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah:
“They will not lament for him,
‘Alas, my brother,’ or ‘Alas, sister.’
They will not lament for him,
‘Alas, lord,’ or ‘alas, his majesty.’
19He will be buried with the burial of a donkey.
He will be#Here the subject is supplied from context in the English translation dragged away and thrown outside#Literally “from beyond” the gates of Jerusalem.
20Go up to Lebanon and cry out,
and in Bashan lift up your voice,
and cry out from Abarim,
for all your lovers are shattered.
21I spoke to you in the times you were secure,#Literally “in your security”
and you said, ‘I will not listen!’
This was your way from your youth,
for you have not obeyed my voice.
22All your shepherds will shepherd the wind,
and your lovers will go into captivity.
Yes, then you will be ashamed and humiliated
because of all your wickedness.
23Inhabitants#Hebrew “Inhabitant” of Lebanon,
nestled among the cedars,
how you will groan when labor pains come to you,
fear and pain as the woman who gives birth.
24“As I live,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh, “surely if Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, were the seal on my right hand, surely from there I would wrench you off. 25And I would give you into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of those from whom you are frightened by their presence, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26And I will throw you and your mother who gave birth to you to another country where you were not born, and there you will die. 27As for the land to which they are longing#Literally “lifting their inner self” to return, they will not return.
28Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered vessel?
Or a vessel in which there is no delight?
Why are he and his offspring thrown far,
and cast away to the land that they do not know?”
29O land, land, land, hear the word of Yahweh. 30Thus says Yahweh:
“Record this man as childless,
a man who will not succeed in his days,
for no man from his offspring will succeed him,#Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
sitting on the throne of David and ruling again in Judah.”
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Jeremiah 22: LEB
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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 violence, 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. 5But if you ignore me, I promise in my own name that this palace will lie in ruins.#Mt 23.28; Lk 13.35. 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 worshipped 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 cry for him.#22.10 King Josiah…him: The Hebrew text has “don't cry for the dead one”, meaning King Josiah, who ruled 640-609 BC.
Instead, cry for his son
King Jehoahaz,#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 BC.
dragged off to another country,
never to return.
11-12Jehoahaz#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.#2 K 23.31-34; 2 Ch 36.1-4.
King Jehoiakim
The LORD told me to say:
13-14King Jehoiakim,#22.13,14 Jehoiakim: See the note at 1.3. you are doomed!
You built a palace
with large rooms upstairs.
You put in big windows
and used cedar panelling
and red paint.
But you were unfair
and forced the builders to work
without pay.
15-16More 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.
That'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.
18Jehoiakim, no one will cry#2 K 23.36—24.6; 2 Ch 36.5-7.
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 dust.
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
panelled with cedar#22.23 who live in the palace panelled 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 panelled 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.
24King Jehoiachin,#22.24 Jehoiachin: The Hebrew text has “Coniah”, another form of Jehoiachin's name; he ruled for three months in 598 BC. 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.#2 K 24.8-15; 2 Ch 36.9,10. 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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