Jeremiah

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

1The LORD said this: Go down to the palace of the king of Judah, and speak this message there.

2And 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:

2Say: Hear the word of the LORD, king of Judah, you who sit on David's throne. This message is for you, your officials, and your people who come in through these gates.

3Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.

3This is what the LORD says: Do what is fair and right. Rescue the robbed person from the hand of the one who cheats him. Do not harm or attack the foreigner, the orphan, or the widow. Do not kill innocent people in this place.

4For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.

4If you really do this, then kings who sit on David's throne will keep coming in through the gates of this palace. They will ride in chariots and on horses, along with their officials and their people.

5But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.

5But if you will not listen to these words, I swear by myself, says the LORD, that this palace will become a heap of ruins.

6For thus saith the LORD unto the king’s house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.

6This is what the LORD says about the palace of Judah's king: You are like Gilead to me, like the high forests of Lebanon. But I will turn you into a desert, like towns where no one lives.

7And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.

7I will send men to destroy you, each one with his weapons. They will chop down your finest cedar beams and throw them into the fire.

8And many 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?

8Many nations will pass by this city. Each person will ask his neighbor, "Why has the LORD done this to such a great city?"

9Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.

9And they will answer, "Because they broke their agreement with the LORD their God. They worshiped other gods and served them."

10Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.

10Do not weep for the king who has died, and do not mourn for him. Weep hard for the one who is being taken away. He will never come back or see his homeland again.

11For thus saith the LORD touching Shallum 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:

11This is what the LORD says about Shallum son of Josiah, king of Judah. He became king after his father Josiah, and he has been taken away from this place. He will never come back here.

12But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.

12He will die in the country where they took him as a prisoner. He will never see this land again.

13Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;

13How terrible for the man who builds his palace by doing wrong, and his upper rooms by cheating. He makes his own people work for nothing and never pays their wages.

14That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion.

14He says, "I will build myself a huge palace with big upper rooms." So he cuts windows in it, lines the walls with cedar, and paints it bright red.

NoteVermilion was a costly bright red paint. Using it on a house was a way of showing off wealth.

15Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him?

15Does having the finest cedar make you a king? Your father had plenty to eat and drink. He also did what was fair and right, and things went well for him.

16He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD.

16He defended the poor and the needy when they were wronged, and things went well for him. Isn't that what it means to know me? says the LORD.

17But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.

17But your eyes and your heart are set on nothing but greed. You want to kill innocent people, to crush others, and to get your way by force.

18Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!

18So this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah: No one will mourn for him and say, "Oh, my brother!" or "Oh, my sister!" No one will mourn and say, "Oh, my master!" or "Oh, his greatness!"

19He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

19He will be buried the way a donkey is buried. He will be dragged away and dumped outside the gates of Jerusalem.

20Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed.

20Go up to Lebanon and cry out. Raise your voice in Bashan. Cry out from the hills of Abarim, because everyone who loved you has been crushed.

Note"Lovers" here means the nations Judah made deals with for protection, not people who loved her. The same word is used in verse 22.

21I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice.

21I spoke to you when life was easy and safe, but you said, "I will not listen." You have been like this since you were young; you never obeyed me.

22The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.

22The wind will blow away all your shepherds, and your allies will be marched off as prisoners. Then you will be ashamed and disgraced for all the evil you did.

23O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!

23You live in Lebanon and make your nest among the cedar beams. How you will groan when the pain grips you, like a woman giving birth.

24As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;

24As surely as I live, says the LORD, hear this, Coniah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah. Even if you were the signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off.

NoteConiah is another name for King Jehoiachin. A signet ring was worn on the hand and pressed into wax or clay to stamp the king's own mark. It stood for his authority, and no one would give it up.

25And I will 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.

25I will hand you over to the people who want to kill you, the very ones you fear. I will give you to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Chaldeans.

26And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die.

26I will throw you out into another country, and your mother who gave birth to you as well. Neither of you was born there, and there you will both die.

27But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return.

27They will long to come back to their own land, but they will never return to it.

28Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?

28Is this man Coniah a broken pot that people despise? Is he a jar nobody wants? Then why are he and his children thrown out into a land they do not know?

29O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

29Land, land, land, hear the word of the LORD!

30Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.

30This is what the LORD says: Write this man down as childless. He will not do well in his lifetime. None of his children will sit on David's throne or rule in Judah again.