Jeremiah 22

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

2And 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:

3Thus 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.

4For 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.footnote a

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

6For thus saith the LORD unto the king’s house 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.

7And 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.

8And 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?

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

10Weep 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.

11For 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:

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

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

14That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion.footnote bfootnote c

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

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

17But 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.footnote d

18Therefore 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!

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

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

21I 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.footnote e

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

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

24As 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;

25And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.

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

27But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return.footnote g

28Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore 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 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.

A Warning to Judah’s Kings

1This is what the LORD says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there, 2saying, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David—you and your officials and your people who enter these gates. 3This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place.

4For if you will indeed carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will enter through the gates of this palace riding on chariots and horses—they and their officials and their people. 5But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by Myself, declares the LORD, that this house will become a pile of rubble.’”

A Warning about the Palace

6For this is what the LORD says concerning the house of the king of Judah:“You are like Gilead to Me,like the summit of Lebanon;but I will surely turn you into a desert,like cities that are uninhabited. 7I will appoint destroyers against you,each man with his weapons,and they will cut down the choicest of your cedarsand throw them into the fire.

8And many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’

9Then people will reply, ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’”

A Warning about Shallum

10Do not weep for him who is dead;do not mourn his loss.Weep bitterly for him who is exiled,for he will never returnto see his native land.

11For this is what the LORD says concerning Shallumfootnote a son of Josiah, king of Judah, who succeeded his father Josiah but has gone forth from this place: “He will never return, 12but he will die in the place to which he was exiled; he will never see this land again.”

A Warning about Jehoiakim

13“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness,and his upper rooms without justice,who makes his countrymen serve without pay,and fails to pay their wages, 14who says, ‘I will build myself a great palace,with spacious upper rooms.’So he cuts windows in it,panels it with cedar,and paints it with vermilion.

15Does it make you a king to excelfootnote bin cedar?Did not your father have food and drink?He administered justice and righteousness,and so it went well with him. 16He took up the cause of the poor and needy,and so it went well with him.Is this not what it means to know Me?”declares the LORD. 17“But your eyes and heart are set on nothingexcept your own dishonest gain,on shedding innocent blood,on practicing extortion and oppression.”

18Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:“They will not mourn for him:‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’They will not mourn for him:‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’ 19He will be buried like a donkey,dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem. 20Go up to Lebanon and cry out;raise your voice in Bashan;cry out from Abarim,for all your lovers have been crushed.

21I warned you when you were secure.You said, ‘I will not listen.’This has been your way from youth,that you have not obeyed My voice. 22The wind will drive away all your shepherds,and your lovers will go into captivity.Then you will be ashamed and humiliatedbecause of all your wickedness. 23O inhabitant of Lebanon,footnote cnestled in the cedars,how you will groan when pangs of anguish come upon you,agony like a woman in labor.”

A Warning to Coniah

24“As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “even if you, Coniahfootnote d son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on My right hand, I would pull you off. 25In fact, I will hand you over to those you dread, who want to take your life—to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Chaldeans.footnote e 26I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another land, where neither of you were born—and there you both will die. 27You will never return to the land for which you long.”

28Is this man Coniah a despised and shattered pot,a jar that no one wants?Why are he and his descendants hurled outand cast into a land they do not know? 29O land, land, land,hear the word of the LORD!

30This is what the LORD says:“Enroll this man as childless,a man who will not prosper in his lifetime.None of his descendants will prosperto sit on the throne of Davidor to rule again in Judah.”