Jeremiah 22

1 Thus said the LORD: Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,

Thus saith the Lord; Go thou, and go down to the house of the king of Juda, and thou shalt speak there this word,

2 And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates.

and thou shalt say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Juda, that sittest on the throne of David, thou, and thy house, and thy people, and they that go in at these gates:

3 Thus saith the LORD: Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence, to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.

thus saith the Lord; Execute ye judgment and justice, and rescue the spoiled out of the hand of him that wrongs him: and oppress not the stranger, and orphan, and widow, and sin not, and shed no innocent blood in this place.

4 For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.

For if ye will indeed perform this word, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, and riding on chariots and horses, they, and their servants, and their people.

5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.

But if ye will not perform these words, by myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, that this house shall be [brought] to desolation.

6 For thus saith the LORD concerning the house of the king of Judah: Thou art Gilead unto me, [and] the head of Lebanon: [yet] surely I will make thee a wilderness, [and] cities which are not inhabited.

For thus saith the Lord concerning the house of the king of Juda; Thou art Galaad to me, [and] the head of Libanus: [yet] surely I will make thee a desert, [even] cities that shall not be inhabited:

7 And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.

and I will bring upon thee a destroying man, and his axe: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast [them] into the fire.

8 And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this great city?

And nations shall pass through this city, and each shall say to his neighbour, Why has the Lord done thus to this great city?

9 Then they shall answer, Because they forsook the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.

And they shall say, Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshipped strange gods, and served them.

10 Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away; for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.

Weep not for the dead, nor lament for him: weep bitterly for him that goes away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native land.

11 For thus saith the LORD touching Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place: He shall not return thither any more;

For thus saith the Lord concerning Sellem the son of Josias, who reigns in the place of Josias his father, who has gone forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more:

12 But in the place whither they have led him captive, there shall he die, and he shall see this land no more.

but in that place whither I have carried him captive, there shall he die, and shall see this land no more.

13 Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by injustice; that useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not his hire;

He that builds his house not with justice, and his upper chambers not with judgment, who works by means of his neighbour for nothing, and will by no means give him his reward.

14 that saith, I will build me a wide house and spacious chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion.

Thou hast built for thyself a well-proportioned house, airy chambers, fitted with windows, and wainscoted with cedar, and painted with vermilion.

15 Shalt thou reign, because thou strivest to excel in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice? then it was well with him.

Shalt thou reign, because thou art provoked with thy father Achaz? they shall not eat, and they shall not drink: it is better for thee to execute judgment and justice.

16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Was not this to know me? saith the LORD.

They understood not, they judged not the cause of the afflicted, nor the cause of the poor: is not this thy not knowing me? saith the Lord.

17 But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.

Behold, thine eyes are not good, nor thine heart, but [they go] after thy covetousness, and after the innocent blood to shed it, and after acts of injustice and slaughter, to commit them.

18 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: They shall not lament for him, [saying], Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, [saying], Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!

Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning Joakim son of Josias, king of Juda, even concerning this man; they shall not bewail him, [saying], Ah brother! neither shall they at all weep for him, [saying], Alas Lord.

19 He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

He shall be buried with the burial of an ass; he shall be dragged roughly along and cast outside the gate of Jerusalem.

20 Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan: and cry from Abarim; for all thy lovers are destroyed.

Go up to Libanus, and cry; and utter thy voice to Basan, and cry aloud to the extremity of the sea: for all thy lovers are destroyed.

21 I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice.

I spoke to thee on [occasion of] thy trespass, but thou saidst, I will not hearken. This [has been] thy way from thy youth, thou hast not hearkened to my voice.

22 The wind shall feed all thy shepherds, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.

The wind shall tend all thy shepherds, and thy lovers shall go into captivity; for then shalt thou be ashamed and disgraced because of all thy lovers.

23 O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how greatly to be pitied shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!

O thou that dwellest in Libanus, making thy nest in the cedars, thou shalt groan heavily, when pangs as of a travailing woman are come upon thee.

24 As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;

[As] I live, saith the Lord, though Jechonias son of Joakim king of Juda were indeed the seal upon my right hand, thence would I pluck thee;

25 and I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them of whom thou art afraid, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.

and I will deliver thee into the hands of them that seek thy life, before whom thou art afraid, into the hands of the Chaldeans.

26 And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die.

And I will cast forth thee, and thy mother that bore thee, into a land where thou wast not born; and there ye shall die.

27 But to the land whereunto their soul longeth to return, thither shall they not return.

But they shall by no means return to the land which they long for in their souls.

28 Is this man Coniah a despised broken vessel? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into the land which they know not?

Jechonias is dishonoured as a good-for-nothing vessel; for he is thrown out and cast forth into a land which he knew not.

29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

Land, land, hear the word of the Lord.

30 Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.

Write ye this man an outcast: for there shall none of his seed at all grow up to sit on the throne of David, [or as] a prince yet in Juda.