Jeremiah 22

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. Speak my 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: "Listen to the LORD's message, king of Judah. You sit on the throne of David. Your officials and your people who come through these gates must listen too."

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.

3The LORD says: Be fair and do what is right. Rescue people who have been robbed from those who hurt them. Do not harm foreigners, children with no father, or widows. 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 obey, kings will keep coming through these palace gates. They will sit on David's throne. They will ride in chariots and on horses. Their officials and their people will come too.

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, I make a promise by my own name, says the LORD. This palace will become a pile of broken stones.

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.

6The LORD says this about the palace of Judah's king: To me you are as fine as Gilead, like the top of Lebanon. Even so, I will turn you into a desert. You will be like towns where nobody 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 will bring his weapons. They will cut down your best cedar beams. They will 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. People will ask each other, "Why did the LORD do this to this great city?"

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

9The answer will be: "Because they broke their promise to 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 cry for the king who has died. Do not be sad about him. Cry hard for the king who is taken away. He will never come back. He will never see his own land 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:

11The LORD says this about Shallum son of Josiah, king of Judah. He became king after his father Josiah. Then he was 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 land where they took him. 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 sad for the man who builds his palace by cheating. He builds his upper rooms by doing wrong. He makes his own people work for nothing. He never pays them what they earned.

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 big palace with large upper rooms." He cuts windows into it. He covers the walls with cedar wood. He paints it bright red.

NoteVermilion was a costly bright red paint. Using it 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 fine cedar wood make you a king? Your father had plenty to eat and drink. He was fair and did what was right. So 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 made sure poor and needy people were treated fairly. So things went well for him. Isn't this 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 want only one thing. You want money you have no right to. You want to kill innocent people. You want to bully and hurt others.

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 the LORD says this about Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah. Nobody will cry for him. Nobody will say, "Oh, my brother!" or "Oh, my sister!" Nobody will say, "Oh, my master!" or "Oh, how great he was!"

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 thrown 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 shout. Lift up your voice in Bashan. Shout from the hills of Abarim. All your lovers have been crushed.

Note"Lovers" here means the other nations Judah made deals with and leaned on for help.

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 you felt safe. You said, "I will not listen." You have acted this way since you were young. You never obeyed my voice.

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, the leaders who were meant to care for you. Your lovers will be marched away as prisoners. Then you will feel ashamed for all the wrong you did.

NoteThe KJV word "pastors" here means shepherds. It is a picture of the kings and leaders who were supposed to look after the people.

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 in the cedar trees. How you will groan when the pain comes! It will hurt like a woman having a baby.

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;

24The LORD says: As surely as I am alive, 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.

NoteA signet ring was a ring a king wore to press his own mark into wax or clay. It stood for his authority, and he kept it close.

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. They are the very ones you are afraid of. 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 and your mother out into another country. Neither of you was born there. You will both die there.

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

27They will never return to the land they long to see again.

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 hate? Is he a jar that nobody wants? Then why are he and his children thrown out? Why are they sent to a land they do not know?

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

29Land, land, land, listen to 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.

30The LORD says: Write this man down as childless. Nothing will go well for him in his lifetime. None of his children will sit on David's throne. None of them will ever rule in Judah again.