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Jeremiah 22
Amplified Bible
Jeremiah 22
Amplified Bible
Warning of Jerusalem’s Fall
22 Thus says the Lord, “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak this word there: 2 ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David—you and your servants and your people who enter by these gates. 3 Thus says the Lord, “Execute justice and righteousness, and rescue the one who has been robbed from the hand of his oppressor. And do no wrong; do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you will indeed obey this word, then kings will enter through the gates of this palace, sitting in David’s place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, even the king himself and his servants and his people. 5 But if you will not hear and obey these words, I swear [an oath] by Myself,” says the Lord, “that this house will become a desolation.”’” 6 For thus says the Lord in regard to the house of the king of Judah:
“You are [as valuable] to Me as [the green pastures of] Gilead [east of the Jordan]
Or as the [plentiful] summit of Lebanon [west of the Jordan],
Yet most certainly [if you will not listen to Me] I will make you a wilderness,
And uninhabited cities.
7
“For I will prepare and appoint destroyers [to execute My judgments] against you,
Each with his weapons;
And they will cut down your [palaces built of] choicest cedars
And throw them in the fire.
8 “Many nations will pass by this city; and each man will say to another, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this great city?’ 9 Then they will answer, ‘Because the people ignored and abandoned the [solemn] covenant with the Lord their God and worshiped other gods and served them.’”
10
Do not weep for the dead or mourn for him;
But weep bitterly for the one who goes away [into exile],
For he will never return
And see his native country [again].
11 For thus says the Lord in regard to Shallum (Jehoahaz) the [third] son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father and who went from this place, “Shallum will not return here anymore; 12 he will die in the place where they led him captive and not see this land again.
Messages about the Kings
13
“Woe (judgment is coming) to him who builds his house by [acts of] unrighteousness
And his upper chambers by injustice,
Who uses his neighbor’s service without pay
And does not give him wages [for his work],
14
Who says, ‘I will build myself a spacious house
With large upper rooms,
And cut out its [wide] windows,
And panel it with cedar and paint it vermilion.’
15
“Do you think that you become a king because you have much more cedar [in your palace than Solomon]?
Did not your father [Josiah], as he ate and drank,
Do just and righteous acts [being upright and in right standing with God]?
Then all was well with him.
16
“He defended the cause of the afflicted and needy;
Then all was well.
Is that not what it means to know Me?”
Says the Lord.
17
“But your eyes and your heart
Are only intent on your own dishonest gain,
On shedding innocent blood,
On oppression and extortion and violence.”
18 Therefore thus says the Lord in regard to [a]Jehoiakim the [second] son of Josiah, king of Judah,
“The relatives will not lament (mourn over with expressions of grief) for him:
‘Alas, my brother!’ or, ‘Alas, sister,’ [how great our loss]!
The subjects will not lament for him:
‘Alas, master!’ or ‘Alas, majesty [how great was his glory]!’
19
“[b]He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey—
Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20
“Go up [north] to Lebanon and cry out,
And raise your voice in [the hills of] Bashan [across the Jordan];
Cry out also from [c]Abarim,
For all your lovers (allies) have been destroyed.(A)
21
“I spoke to you in your [times of] prosperity,
But you said, ‘I will not listen!’
This has been your attitude and practice from your youth;
You have not obeyed My voice.
22
“The wind [of adversity] will carry away all your shepherds (rulers, statesmen),
And your lovers (allies) will go into exile.
Surely then you will be ashamed and humiliated and disgraced
Because of all your wickedness.
23
“O inhabitant of [Jerusalem, whose palaces are made from the cedars of] Lebanon,
You who nest in the cedars,
How you will groan and how miserable you will be when pains come on you,
Pain like a woman in childbirth!(B)
24 “As I live,” says the Lord, “though [d]Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet [ring] on My right hand, yet would I pull you (Coniah) off. 25 And I will place you in the hand of those who seek your life and in the hand of those whom you fear, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the [e]Chaldeans. 26 I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another country where you were not born, and there you will die. 27 But as for the land to which they long to return, they will not return to it.
28
“Is this man [King] Coniah a despised, broken jar?
Is he a vessel in which no one takes pleasure?
Why are he and his [royal] descendants hurled out
And cast into a land which they do not know or understand?
29
“O land, land, land,
Hear the word of the Lord!
30 Thus says the Lord,
‘Write this man [Coniah] down as childless,
A man who will not prosper (succeed) in his lifetime;
For not one of his descendants will succeed
In sitting on the throne of David
Or ruling again in Judah.’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 22:18 Originally named Eliakim, he was renamed Jehoiakim by Pharaoh Neco of Egypt and placed on the throne of Judah after Neco deposed and imprisoned Jehoiakim’s younger brother, King Jehoahaz (also called Shallum), because Jehoahaz was allied with Babylon instead of Egypt.
- Jeremiah 22:19 Jehoiakim was killed during Babylon’s second attack. His body was desecrated and thrown out as food for scavengers.
- Jeremiah 22:20 A range of mountains southeast of Palestine.
- Jeremiah 22:24 Also known as Jeconiah and Jehoiachin.
- Jeremiah 22:25 The ruling tribe of Babylonia whose capital city was Babylon.
Jeremiah 22
New International Version
Jeremiah 22
New International Version
Judgment Against Wicked Kings
22 This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the palace of the king(A) of Judah and proclaim this message there: 2 ‘Hear(B) the word of the Lord to you, king of Judah, you who sit on David’s throne(C)—you, your officials and your people who come through these gates.(D) 3 This is what the Lord says: Do what is just(E) and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor(F) the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow,(G) and do not shed innocent blood(H) in this place. 4 For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings(I) who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. 5 But if you do not obey(J) these commands, declares the Lord, I swear(K) by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’”
6 For this is what the Lord says about the palace of the king of Judah:
“Though you are like Gilead(L) to me,
like the summit of Lebanon,(M)
I will surely make you like a wasteland,(N)
like towns not inhabited.
7 I will send destroyers(O) against you,
each man with his weapons,
and they will cut(P) up your fine cedar beams
and throw them into the fire.(Q)
8 “People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’(R) 9 And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods.(S)’”
10 Do not weep for the dead(T) king or mourn(U) his loss;
rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled,
because he will never return(V)
nor see his native land again.
11 For this is what the Lord says about Shallum[a](W) son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but has gone from this place: “He will never return. 12 He will die(X) in the place where they have led him captive; he will not see this land again.”
13 “Woe(Y) to him who builds(Z) his palace by unrighteousness,
his upper rooms by injustice,
making his own people work for nothing,
not paying(AA) them for their labor.
14 He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace(AB)
with spacious upper rooms.’
So he makes large windows in it,
panels it with cedar(AC)
and decorates it in red.(AD)
15 “Does it make you a king
to have more and more cedar?
Did not your father have food and drink?
He did what was right and just,(AE)
so all went well(AF) with him.
16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy,(AG)
and so all went well.
Is that not what it means to know(AH) me?”
declares the Lord.
17 “But your eyes and your heart
are set only on dishonest gain,(AI)
on shedding innocent blood(AJ)
and on oppression and extortion.”(AK)
18 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
“They will not mourn(AL) for him:
‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’
They will not mourn for him:
‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’
19 He will have the burial(AM) of a donkey—
dragged away and thrown(AN)
outside the gates of Jerusalem.”
20 “Go up to Lebanon and cry out,(AO)
let your voice be heard in Bashan,(AP)
cry out from Abarim,(AQ)
for all your allies(AR) are crushed.
21 I warned you when you felt secure,(AS)
but you said, ‘I will not listen!’
This has been your way from your youth;(AT)
you have not obeyed(AU) me.
22 The wind(AV) will drive all your shepherds(AW) away,
and your allies(AX) will go into exile.
Then you will be ashamed and disgraced(AY)
because of all your wickedness.
23 You who live in ‘Lebanon,[b](AZ)’
who are nestled in cedar buildings,
how you will groan when pangs come upon you,
pain(BA) like that of a woman in labor!
24 “As surely as I live,” declares the Lord, “even if you, Jehoiachin[c](BB) son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring(BC) on my right hand, I would still pull you off. 25 I will deliver(BD) you into the hands of those who want to kill you, those you fear—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Babylonians.[d] 26 I will hurl(BE) you and the mother(BF) who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. 27 You will never come back to the land you long to return(BG) to.”
28 Is this man Jehoiachin(BH) a despised, broken pot,(BI)
an object no one wants?
Why will he and his children be hurled(BJ) out,
cast into a land(BK) they do not know?
29 O land,(BL) land, land,
hear the word of the Lord!
30 This is what the Lord says:
“Record this man as if childless,(BM)
a man who will not prosper(BN) in his lifetime,
for none of his offspring(BO) will prosper,
none will sit on the throne(BP) of David
or rule anymore in Judah.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 22:11 Also called Jehoahaz
- Jeremiah 22:23 That is, the palace in Jerusalem (see 1 Kings 7:2)
- Jeremiah 22:24 Hebrew Koniah, a variant of Jehoiachin; also in verse 28
- Jeremiah 22:25 Or Chaldeans
Amplified Bible (AMP) 
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