Jeremiah 22 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

A Message for Judah’s Kings

Jer 22:1This is what the LORD said to me: “Go over and speak directly to the king of Judah. Say to him,

Jer 22:2‘Listen to this message from the LORD, you king of Judah, sitting on David’s throne. Let your attendants and your people listen, too.

Jer 22:3

Jer 22:3This is what the LORD says: Be fair-minded and just. Do what is right! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Quit your evil deeds! Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows. Stop murdering the innocent!

Jer 22:4

Jer 22:4If you obey me, there will always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne here in Jerusalem. The king will ride through the palace gates in chariots and on horses, with his parade of attendants and subjects.

Jer 22:5

Jer 22:5But if you refuse to pay attention to this warning, I swear by my own name, says the LORD, that this palace will become a pile of rubble.’”

A Message about the Palace

Jer 22:6

Jer 22:6Now this is what the LORD says concerning Judah’s royal palace:
“I love you as much as fruitful Gilead
and the green forests of Lebanon.
But I will turn you into a desert,
with no one living within your walls.

Jer 22:7

Jer 22:7I will call for wreckers,
who will bring out their tools to dismantle you.
They will tear out all your fine cedar beams
and throw them on the fire.

Jer 22:8

Jer 22:8“People from many nations will pass by the ruins of this city and say to one another, ‘Why did the LORD destroy such a great city?’

Jer 22:9

Jer 22:9And the answer will be, ‘Because they violated their covenant with the LORD their God by worshiping other gods.’”

A Message about Jehoahaz

Jer 22:10

Jer 22:10Do not weep for the dead king or mourn his loss.
Instead, weep for the captive king being led away!
For he will never return to see his native land again.

Jer 22:11

Jer 22:11For this is what the LORD says about Jehoahaz,[fn] who succeeded his father, King Josiah, and was taken away as a captive: “He will never return.

Jer 22:12

Jer 22:12He will die in a distant land and will never again see his own country.”

A Message about Jehoiakim

Jer 22:13

Jer 22:13And the LORD says, “What sorrow awaits Jehoiakim,[fn]
who builds his palace with forced labor.[fn]
He builds injustice into its walls,
for he makes his neighbors work for nothing.
He does not pay them for their labor.

Jer 22:14

Jer 22:14He says, ‘I will build a magnificent palace
with huge rooms and many windows.
I will panel it throughout with fragrant cedar
and paint it a lovely red.’

Jer 22:15

Jer 22:15But a beautiful cedar palace does not make a great king!
Your father, Josiah, also had plenty to eat and drink.
But he was just and right in all his dealings.
That is why God blessed him.

Jer 22:16

Jer 22:16He gave justice and help to the poor and needy,
and everything went well for him.
Isn’t that what it means to know me?”
says the LORD.

Jer 22:17

Jer 22:17“But you! You have eyes only for greed and dishonesty!
You murder the innocent,
oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly.”

Jer 22:18

Jer 22:18Therefore, this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim, son of King Josiah:
“The people will not mourn for him, crying to one another,
‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’
His subjects will not mourn for him, crying,
‘Alas, our master is dead! Alas, his splendor is gone!’

Jer 22:19

Jer 22:19He will be buried like a dead donkey—
dragged out of Jerusalem and dumped outside the gates!

Jer 22:20

Jer 22:20Weep for your allies in Lebanon.
Shout for them in Bashan.
Search for them in the regions east of the river.[fn]
See, they are all destroyed.
Not one is left to help you.

Jer 22:21

Jer 22:21I warned you when you were prosperous,
but you replied, ‘Don’t bother me.’
You have been that way since childhood—
you simply will not obey me!

Jer 22:22

Jer 22:22And now the wind will blow away your allies.
All your friends will be taken away as captives.
Surely then you will see your wickedness and be ashamed.

Jer 22:23

Jer 22:23It may be nice to live in a beautiful palace
paneled with wood from the cedars of Lebanon,
but soon you will groan with pangs of anguish—
anguish like that of a woman in labor.

A Message for Jehoiachin

Jer 22:24

Jer 22:24“As surely as I live,” says the LORD, “I will abandon you, Jehoiachin[fn] son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah. Even if you were the signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off.

Jer 22:25

Jer 22:25I will hand you over to those who seek to kill you, those you so desperately fear—to King Nebuchadnezzar[fn] of Babylon and the mighty Babylonian[fn] army.

Jer 22:26

Jer 22:26I will expel you and your mother from this land, and you will die in a foreign country, not in your native land.

Jer 22:27

Jer 22:27You will never again return to the land you yearn for.

Jer 22:28

Jer 22:28“Why is this man Jehoiachin like a discarded, broken jar?
Why are he and his children to be exiled to a foreign land?

Jer 22:29

Jer 22:29O earth, earth, earth!
Listen to this message from the LORD!

Jer 22:30

Jer 22:30This is what the LORD says:
‘Let the record show that this man Jehoiachin was childless.
He is a failure,
for none of his children will succeed him on the throne of David
to rule over Judah.’