Jeremiah

Jeremiah 22 ©

1 An exhortation to the king's house to execute justice without oppression, enforced with promises and threats. 10 The judgment of Shallum, 13 of Jehoiakim, 20 and of Coniah.

1

THUS saith the LORD; aGo down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,

2

And say, bHear 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:

3

Thus saith the LORD; cExecute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence dto the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.

d ch. 7.6.
4

For eif ye do this thing indeed, fthen shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting 1upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.

5

But gif ye will not hear these words, I swear hby myself, saith the LORD, that ithis house shall become a desolation.

6

For thus saith the LORD unto the king's house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely jI will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.

7

And kI will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: land they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.

8

And mmany 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?

9

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

10

pWeep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep *sore for qhim that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.

11

For thus saith the LORD touching rShallum 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:

12

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

13

tWoe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that uuseth his neighbour's service vwithout wages, and giveth him not for his work;

14

That saith, wI will build me a wide house and 2large chambers, and cutteth him out 3windows; and it is *cieled with cedar, and painted with *vermilion.

15

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

16

He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him : was ynot this to know me? saith the LORD.

17

But zthine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, aand for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for 4violence, to do it.

18

Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning bJehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! cthey shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!

b v.11.
19

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

20

¶Go up to eLebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from 5the passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed.

21

I spake unto thee in thy 6prosperity; but fthou saidst, I will not hear. gThis hath been thy *manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice.

22

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

23

O 7inhabitant of Lebanon, that jmakest thy nest in the cedars, khow gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in *travail!

24

As lI live, saith the LORD, though mConiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were nthe signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;

25

And I owill 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.

26

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

27

But to the land whereunto they 8desire to return, qthither shall they not return.

28

Is this man Coniah ra despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, she and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?

29

O tearth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

30

Thus saith the LORD, uWrite ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for vno man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.