Jeremiah 22

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

Thus said Jehovah, 'Go down [to] the house of the king of Judah, and thou hast spoken there this word, and hast said,

2 ‘Hear the LORD’s word, king of Judah, who sits on David’s throne—you, your servants, and your people who enter in by these gates.

Hear a word of Jehovah, O king of Judah, who art sitting on the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people, who are coming in at these gates,

3 The LORD says: “Execute justice and righteousness, and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong. Do no violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place.

Thus said Jehovah: Do ye judgment and righteousness, And deliver the plundered from the hand of the oppressor, And sojourner, orphan, and widow, ye do not oppress nor wrong, And innocent blood ye do not shed in this place.

4 For if you do this thing indeed, then kings sitting on David’s throne will enter in by the gates of this house, riding in chariots and on horses—they, their servants, and their people.

For, if ye certainly do this thing, Then come in by the gates of this house Have kings sitting for David on his throne, Riding on chariot, and on horses, He, and his servants, and his people.

5 But if you will not hear these words, I swear by myself,” says the LORD, “that this house will become a desolation.”’”

And if ye do not hear these words, By myself I have sworn — an affirmation of Jehovah, That this house is for a desolation.

6 For the LORD says concerning the house of the king of Judah: “You are Gilead to me, the head of Lebanon. Yet surely I will make you a wilderness, cities which are not inhabited.

For thus said Jehovah, Concerning the house of the king of Judah: Gilead [art] thou to Me — head of Lebanon, If not — I make thee a wilderness, Cities not inhabited.

7 I will prepare destroyers against you, everyone with his weapons, and they will cut down your choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.

And I have separated for thee destroyers, Each with his weapons, And they have cut down the choice of thy cedars, And have cast them on the fire.

8 “Many nations will pass by this city, and they will each ask his neighbor, ‘Why has the LORD done this to this great city?’

And many nations have passed by this city, And they have said, each to his neighbour, For what hath Jehovah done thus to this great city?

9 Then they will answer, ‘Because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD their God, worshiped other gods, and served them.’”

And they have said, 'Because that they have forsaken The covenant of Jehovah their God, And bow themselves to other gods, and serve them.'

10 Do not weep for the dead. Do not bemoan him; but weep bitterly for him who goes away, for he will return no more, and not see his native country.

Ye do not weep for the dead, nor bemoan for him, Weep ye sore for the traveller, For he doth not return again, Nor hath he seen the land of his birth.

11 For the LORD says touching Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, and who went out of this place: “He will not return there any more.

For thus said Jehovah concerning Shallum son of Josiah king of Judah, who is reigning instead of Josiah his father, who hath gone forth from this place: He doth not turn back hither again;

12 But he will die in the place where they have led him captive. He will see this land no more.”

For in the place whither they have removed him he dieth, And this land he doth not see again.

13 “Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his rooms by injustice; who uses his neighbor’s service without wages, and does not give him his hire;

Woe to him who is building his house by unrighteousness, And his upper chambers by injustice, On his neighbour he layeth service for nought, And his wage he doth not give to him.

14 who says, ‘I will build myself a wide house and spacious rooms,’ and cuts out windows for himself, with a cedar ceiling, and painted with red.

Who is saying, 'I build for myself a large house, And airy upper chambers,' And he hath cut out for himself its windows, Ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermilion.

15 “Should you reign because you strive to excel in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink, and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him.

Dost thou reign, because thou art fretting thyself in cedar? Thy father — did he not eat and drink? Yea, he did judgment and righteousness, Then [it is] well with him.

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

He decided the cause of the poor and needy, Then [it is] well — is it not to know Me? An affirmation of Jehovah.

17 But your eyes and your heart are only for your covetousness, for shedding innocent blood, for oppression, and for doing violence.”

But thine eyes and thy heart are not, Except on thy dishonest gain, And on shedding of innocent blood, And on oppression, and on doing of violence.

18 Therefore the LORD says concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: “They will not lament for him, saying, ‘Ah my brother!’ or, ‘Ah sister!’ They will not lament for him, saying ‘Ah lord!’ or, ‘Ah his glory!’

Therefore, thus said Jehovah concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: They do not lament for him, Ah, my brother, and Ah, sister, They do not lament for him, Ah, lord, and Ah, his honour.

19 He will be buried with the burial of a donkey, drawn and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.”

The burial of an ass — he is buried, Dragged and cast out thence to the gates of Jerusalem.

20 “Go up to Lebanon, and cry out. Lift up your voice in Bashan, and cry from Abarim; for all your lovers have been destroyed.

Go up to Lebanon, and cry, And in Bashan give forth thy voice, And cry from Abarim, For destroyed have been all loving thee.

21 I spoke to you in your prosperity, but you said, ‘I will not listen.’ This has been your way from your youth, that you did not obey my voice.

I have spoken unto thee in thine ease, Thou hast said, 'I do not hearken,' This [is] thy way from thy youth, For thou hast not hearkened to My voice.

22 The wind will feed all your shepherds, and your lovers will go into captivity. Surely then you will be ashamed and confounded for all your wickedness.

All thy friends consume doth wind, And thy lovers into captivity do go, Surely then thou art ashamed, And hast blushed for all thy wickedness.

23 Inhabitant of Lebanon, who makes your nest in the cedars, how greatly to be pitied you will be when pangs come on you, the pain as of a woman in travail!

O dweller in Lebanon, making a nest among cedars, How gracious hast thou been when pangs come to thee, Pain — as of a travailing woman.

24 “As I live,” says the LORD, “though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet on my right hand, I would still pluck you from there.

I live — an affirmation of Jehovah, Though Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah Were a seal on My right hand, Surely thence I draw thee away,

25 I would give you into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of them of whom you are afraid, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.

And I have given thee into the hand of those seeking thy life, And into hands of which thou art afraid, Into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, And into the hand of the Chaldeans.

26 I will cast you out with your mother who bore you into another country, where you were not born; and there you will die.

And I have cast thee, And thy mother who bore thee, unto another country, Where ye were not born, and there do ye die.

27 But to the land to which their soul longs to return, there they will not return.”

And to the land whither they are lifting up their soul to return, Thither they do not return.

28 Is this man Coniah a despised broken vessel? Is he a vessel in which no one delights? Why are they cast out, he and his offspring, and cast into a land which they do not know?

A grief — a despised broken thing — is this man Coniah? A vessel in which there is no pleasure? Wherefore have they been cast up and down, He and his seed, Yea, they were cast on to a land that they knew not?

29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the LORD’s word!

Earth, earth, earth, hear a word of Jehovah,

30 The LORD says, “Record this man as childless, a man who will not prosper in his days; for no more will a man of his offspring prosper, sitting on David’s throne and ruling in Judah.”

Thus said Jehovah: Write ye this man childless, A man — he doth not prosper in his days, For none of his seed doth prosper, Sitting on the throne of David, And ruling again in Judah!