Jeremiah 22

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

Thus said Jehovah: Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak these words.

2 And 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.

Hear the word of Jehovah, thou king of Judah, That sittest upon the throne of David, Thou, and thy servants, and thy people, Who go in and out through these gates!

3 Thus 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, nor the widow, nor oppress them unjustly: and shed not innocent blood in this place.

Thus saith Jehovah: Do justice and righteousness; Deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor; To the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow Do no wrong, do no violence, And shed no innocent blood in this place!

4 For 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.

For if ye shall do this, Then shall there enter in through the gates of this house Kings, who shall sit upon the throne of David, Riding in chariots and upon horses, Each one with his servants and his people.

5 But if you will not hearken to these words: I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.

But if ye will not hearken to these words, By myself do I swear, saith Jehovah, That this house shall become a desolation.

6 For 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.

For thus saith Jehovah to the house of the king of Judah: Gilead art thou to me, yea, the summit of Lebanon; Yet will I make thee a desert, As cities not inhabited.

7 And 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.

I will appoint against thee destroyers, Every one with his weapons; 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 neighbor: Why hath the Lord done so to this great city?

And many nations shall pass by this city, And they shall say one to another, “Wherefore hath Jehovah done thus to this great city?”

9 And they shall answer: Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and have adored strange gods, and served them.

Then shall they answer: “Because they forsook the covenant of Jehovah their God, And worshipped strange gods, And served them.”

10 Weep 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.

Weep not for him that is dead, Make no lamentation for him! Weep, weep ye for him who is gone away; For he shall return no more, Nor see his native land!

11 For 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:

For thus saith Jehovah Concerning Shallum, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, Who reigned instead of Josiah his father, Who went forth from this place: He shall return to it no more;

12 But in the place, to which I have removed him, there shall he die, and he shall not see this land any more.

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

13 Woe 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.

Woe to him that buildeth his house with injustice, And his upper apartments with wrong; That exacteth a man's service without wages, And giveth him no recompense!

14 Who 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.

That saith, “I will build me a large house, And spacious apartments,” And that cutteth out windows, And ceileth it with cedar, And painteth it with vermilion!

15 Shalt 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?

Shalt thou reign because thou rivallest others in cedar? Did not thy father eat and drink? Yet he had regard to justice and equity; Therefore it was well, with him.

16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy for his own good: was it not therefore because he knew me, saith the Lord?

He maintained the cause of the poor and needy; Then was it well with him; Was not this to know me, saith Jehovah?

17 But thy eyes and thy heart are set upon covetousness, and upon shedding innocent blood, and upon oppression, and running after evil works.

But thine eyes and thy heart are only upon thine own gain, And the shedding of innocent blood, And deeds of violence and oppression.

18 Therefore 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.

Therefore thus saith Jehovah, Concerning Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah: They shall not lament for him, saying, “Alas, my brother!” or, “Alas, sister!” They shall not lament for him, saying, “Alas, lord!” or, “Alas, his glory!”

19 He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, rotten and cast forth without the gates of Jerusalem.

With the burial of an ass shall he be buried, Dragged along and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

20 Go 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.

Go thou up to Lebanon and cry, [[O Jerusalem!]] And upon Bashan lift up thy voice; Cry aloud from Abarim! For all thy lovers are fallen.

21 I 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.

I spake to thee in thy prosperity, But thou saidst, “I will not hear.” This hath been thy manner from thy youth; Thou hast not obeyed my voice.

22 The 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.

The wind shall consume all thy shepherds, And thy lovers shall go into captivity; Then shalt thou be ashamed And confounded for all thy wickedness.

23 Thou 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?

O thou that dwellest in Lebanon, That makest thy nest in cedars, How wretched shalt thou be, when anguish cometh upon thee, Pain, as of a woman in travail!

24 As 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.

As I live, saith Jehovah, Thou Coniah, son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Though thou wert the signet upon my right hand, Even 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 whose face thou fearest, and into the hand of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.

And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, And into the hand of them that thou fearest, Even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, And into the hand of the Chaldaeans.

26 And 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:

And I will cast thee forth, And thy mother that bore thee, Into a foreign land, Where ye were not born; And there shall ye die.

27 And they shall not return into the land, whereunto they lift up their mind to return thither.

To the land to which they desire to return, Thither shall they not return.

28 Is 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?

“Is then this man Coniah a contemptible broken vessel? Is he a vessel which no man careth for? Wherefore are he and his offspring cast forth, And thrown into a land which they know not?”

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

O land, land, land, hear the word of Jehovah!

30 Thus 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.

Thus saith Jehovah: Write ye this man childless, A man that shall not be prosperous through his life; For none of his offspring shall prosper, So as to sit on the throne of David, And reign hereafter in Judah.