THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET
JEREMIAH
Jeremiah 22 ©
God sends the prophet to the court, to tell them there what they were to do, if they meant to prosper, v. 1, etc. And forasmuch as they practiced the contrary, He threatens the king’s house and Jerusalem with utter ruin and destruction, 6. A prophecy concerning Shallum, 10. Jehoiakim, 13. Coniah, 24.
THUS saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
And 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:
Thus saith the LORD; 1Executea ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and 2do no wrong, 3do no violence to the stranger,b the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
For if ye do 4this thing 5indeed, thenc shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of 6David, riding in chariots and on horses, 7he, and his servants, and his people.
But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.
For thus saith the LORD unto the king's house of Judah; Thou art 8Gilead unto me, and the 9head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.10
And I will 11prepare destroyersd against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy 12choice cedars, and 13cast them into the fire.
And many 14nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Whereforee hath the LORD done thus unto this great city?
Then they 15shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.
¶Weep ye not for the 16dead, neither bemoan him: but weep 17sore for him 18that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.
For thus saith the LORD touching 19Shallum 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:
But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.
¶ 20Woe unto himf that buildeth his house 21by unrighteousness, and his chambers 22by wrong; that useth 23his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his 24work;
That saith, I will build me a 25wide house and 26large chambers, 27and cutteth him out windows; and it is 28cieled with cedar, and 29painted with 30vermilion.g
Shalt thou 31reign, because thou 32closest thyself in cedar? did not thy 33father 34eat and drink, and do 35judgment and justice, and 36then it was well with him?
He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to 37know me? saith the LORD.
But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for 38thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for 39violence, to do it.
Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; Theyh shall not 40lament for him, saying, 41Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!
He shall be buried with the 42burial of an ass, drawni and castj forth 43beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
¶ 44Go up to 45Lebanon, and 46cry; and 47lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the 48passages: 49for all thy lovers are 50destroyed.
I spake unto thee in thy 51prosperity; but thou saidst, I will notk hear. This hath been thy 52manner from thy 53youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice.
54The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy 55lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.
O inhabitant of 56Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, 57how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!
As I live, saith the LORD, though 58Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the 59signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck 60thee 61thence;
And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy 62life, 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.
And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die.
But to the land whereunto they 63desire to return, thither shall they not return.
64Is this man Coniah a despised broken 65idol? is he a 66vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and 67his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?
O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.
68Thus saith the LORD, 69Write ye this 70man 71childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, 72sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.