Jeremiah 22
22:1 The
22:6 “‘For the
“This place looks like a veritable forest of Gilead to me.
It is like the wooded heights of Lebanon in my eyes.
But I swear that I will make it like a wilderness
whose towns have all been deserted.13
22:7 I will send men against it to destroy it14
with their axes and hatchets.
They will hack up its fine cedar panels and columns
and throw them into the fire.
22:8 “‘People from other nations will pass by this city. They will ask one another, “Why has the
Judgment on Jehoahaz
22:10 “‘Do not weep for the king who was killed.
Do not grieve for him.
But weep mournfully for the king who has gone into exile.
For he will never return to see his native land again.15
22:11 “‘For the
Judgment on Jehoiakim
22:13 “‘Sure to be judged18 is the king who builds his palace using injustice
and treats people unfairly while adding its upper rooms.19
He makes his countrymen work for him for nothing.
He does not pay them for their labor.
22:14 He says, “I will build myself a large palace
with spacious upper rooms.”
He cuts windows in its walls,
panels it20 with cedar, and paints its rooms red.21
22:15 Does it make you any more of a king
that you outstrip everyone else in22 building with cedar?
Just think about your father.
He was content that he had food and drink.23
He did what was just and right.24
So things went well with him.
22:16 He upheld the cause of the poor and needy.
So things went well for Judah.’25
The
‘That is a good example of what it means to know me.’26
22:17 But you are always thinking and looking
for ways to increase your wealth by dishonest means.
Your eyes and your heart are set
on killing some innocent person
and committing fraud and oppression.27
22:18 So28 the
People will not mourn for him, saying,
“This makes me sad, my brother!
This makes me sad, my sister!”
They will not mourn for him, saying,
“Poor, poor lord! Poor, poor majesty!”29
22:19 He will be left unburied just like a dead donkey.
His body will be dragged off and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.’”30
Warning to Jerusalem
22:20 People of Jerusalem,31 go up to Lebanon and cry out in mourning.
Go to the land of Bashan and cry out loudly.
Cry out in mourning from the mountains of Moab.32
For your allies33 have all been defeated.
22:21 While you were feeling secure I gave you warning.34
But you said, “I refuse to listen to you.”
That is the way you have acted from your earliest history onward.35
Indeed, you have never paid attention to me.
22:22 My judgment will carry off all your leaders like a storm wind!36
Your allies will go into captivity.
Then you will certainly37 be disgraced and put to shame
because of all the wickedness you have done.
22:23 You may feel as secure as a bird
nesting in the cedars of Lebanon.
But oh how you38 will groan39 when the pains of judgment come on you.
They will be like those of a woman giving birth to a baby.40
Jeconiah Will Be Permanently Exiled
22:24 The
“As surely as I am the living God, you, Jeconiah,42 king of Judah, son of Jehoiakim, will not be the earthly representative of my authority. Indeed, I will take that right away from you.43 22:25 I will hand you over to those who want to take your life and of whom you are afraid. I will hand you over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his Babylonian44 soldiers. 22:26 I will force you and your mother who gave you birth into exile. You will be exiled to45 a country where neither of you were born, and you will both die there. 22:27 You will never come back to this land to which you will long to return!”46
22:28 This man, Jeconiah, will be like a broken pot someone threw away.
He will be like a clay vessel47 that no one wants.48
Why will he and his children be forced into exile?
Why will they be thrown out into a country they know nothing about?49
22:29 O land of Judah, land of Judah, land of Judah!50
Listen to what the
“Enroll this man in the register as though he were childless.51
Enroll him as a man who will not enjoy success during his lifetime.
For none of his sons will succeed in occupying the throne of David
or ever succeed in ruling over Judah.”