Jer 22 | NASB1995 | STEP | Thus says the Lord , “ Go down to the house of the king of Judah , and there speak this word

‏ Jeremiah 22

Warning of Jerusalem’s Fall

1 Thus says the Lord, “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak this word 2 and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who ^asits on David’s throne, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates. 3 ‘Thus says the Lord, ^b“Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his ^coppressor. Also ^ddo not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not ^eshed innocent blood in this place. 4 “For if you men will indeed perform this thing, then ^fkings will enter the gates of this house, sitting ^{▼▼ Lit for David}in David’s place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, even the king himself and his servants and his people. 5 ^h“But if you will not obey these words, I ⁱswear by Myself,” declares the Lord, “that this house will become a desolation.”’” 6 For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah: “You are like ^jGilead to Me,
Like the summit of Lebanon;
Yet most assuredly I will make you like a ^kwilderness,
Like cities which are not inhabited.
7 “For I will set apart ^ldestroyers against you,
Each with his weapons;
And they will ^mcut down your choicest cedars
And ⁿthrow them on the fire.

8 “Many nations will pass by this city; and they will ^osay to one another, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this great city?’ 9 “Then they will ^{▼▼ Lit say}answer, ‘Because they ^qforsook the covenant of the Lord their God and bowed down to other gods and served them.’” 10 ^rDo not weep for the dead or mourn for him,
But weep continually for the one who goes away;
For ^she will never return
Or see his native land.

11 For thus says the Lord in regard to ^{▼▼ I.e. Jehoahaz
,} ^uShallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in the place of Josiah his father, who went forth from this place, “He will never return there; 12 but in the place where they led him captive, there he will ^vdie and not see this land again.

Messages about the Kings

13 “Woe to him who builds his house ^wwithout righteousness
And his ^{▼▼ Or roof chambers}upper rooms without justice,
Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay
And ^ydoes not give him his wages,
14 Who says, ‘I will ^zbuild myself a roomy house
With spacious ^{▼▼ Or roof chambers}upper rooms,
And cut out its windows,
^{▼▼ Or Paneled}Paneling it with ^accedar and painting it ^{▼▼ Or vermilion}bright red.’
15 “Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink
And ^aedo justice and righteousness?
Then it was ^afwell with him.
16 “He pled the cause of the ^agafflicted and needy;
Then it was well.
^ahIs not that what it means to know Me?”
Declares the Lord.
17 “But your eyes and your heart
Are intent only upon your own ^aidishonest gain,
And on ^ajshedding innocent blood
And on practicing oppression and extortion.”

18 Therefore thus says the Lord in regard to ^akJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, “They will not ^allament for him:
‘ ^amAlas, my brother!’ or, ‘Alas, sister!’
They will not lament for him:
‘Alas for the master!’ or, ‘Alas for his splendor!’
19 “He will be ^anburied with a donkey’s burial,
Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20 “Go up to Lebanon and cry out,
And lift up your voice in Bashan;
Cry out also from ^aoAbarim,
For all your ^aplovers have been crushed.
21 “I spoke to you in your prosperity;
But ^aqyou said, ‘I will not listen!’
^arThis has been your practice ^asfrom your youth,
That you have not obeyed My voice.
22 “The wind will sweep away all your ^atshepherds,
And your ^aulovers will go into captivity;
Then you will surely be ^avashamed and humiliated
Because of all your wickedness.
23 “You who dwell in Lebanon,
Nested in the cedars,
How you will groan when pangs come upon you,
^awPain like a woman in childbirth!

24 “As I live,” declares the Lord, “even though ^{▼▼ I.e. Jehoiachin
,} ^ayConiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a ^azsignet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull ^{▼▼ I.e. Jehoiachin}you ^{▼▼ Lit off from there}off; 25 and I will ^bcgive you over into the hand of those who are seeking your life, yes, into the hand of those whom you dread, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 “I will ^bdhurl you and your ^bemother who bore you into another country where you were not born, and there you will die. 27 “But as for the land to which they desire to return, they will not return to it. 28 “Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered jar?
Or is he an ^bfundesirable vessel?
Why have he and his descendants been ^bghurled out
And cast into a ^bhland that they had not known?
29 ^bi“O land, land, land,
Hear the word of the Lord!

30 “Thus says the Lord, ‘Write this man down ^bjchildless,
A man who will ^bknot prosper in his days;
For no man of his ^bldescendants will prosper
Sitting on the throne of David
Or ruling again in Judah.’”