Jer 21-22 | ESV | STEP | This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord , when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchiah and Zephaniah the priest , the son of Maaseiah , saying ,

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedekiah sent to him ^aPashhur the son of Malchiah and ^bZephaniah the priest, the son of ^cMaaseiah, saying, 2 ^d“Inquire of the Lord for us, ^efor Nebuchadnezzar ^{▼▼Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, an alternate spelling of Nebuchadnezzar (king of Babylon) occurring frequently from Jeremiah 21–52; this latter spelling is used throughout Jeremiah for consistency} king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to ^gall his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.”

3 Then Jeremiah said to them: “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, 4 ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ^hBehold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. ⁱAnd I will bring them together into the midst of this city. 5 I myself will fight against you ^jwith outstretched hand and strong arm, ^kin anger and in fury and in great wrath. 6 And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence. 7 Afterward, declares the Lord, ^lI will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the pestilence, sword, and famine into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their lives. He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword. ^mHe shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion.’

8 “And to this people you shall say: ⁿ‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, ^oI set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who stays in this city shall die ^pby the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and ^qsurrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live ^rand shall have his life as a prize of war. 10 For ^sI have set my face against this city for harm and ^tnot for good, declares the Lord: ^uit shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.’

Message to the House of David

11 “And to the house of the king of Judah say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, 12 O house of David! Thus says the Lord:

^v“‘Execute justice ^win the morning,
and deliver from the hand of the oppressor
him who has been robbed,
^xlest my wrath go forth like fire,
and burn with none to quench it,
because of your evil deeds.’”
13 ^y“Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley,
O rock of the plain,

declares the Lord;
you who say, ^z‘Who shall come down against us,
or who shall enter our habitations?’
14 ^aaI will punish you according to ^abthe fruit of your deeds,

declares the Lord;
^acI will kindle a fire in her forest,
^adand it shall devour all that is around her.”

Jeremiah 22

1 Thus says the Lord: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word, 2 and say, ^ae‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates. 3 Thus says the Lord: ^afDo justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And ^agdo no wrong or violence ^ahto the resident alien, ^aithe fatherless, and the widow, nor ^ajshed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you will indeed obey this word, ^akthen there shall enter the gates of this house kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their servants and their people. 5 But if you will not obey these words, I ^alswear by myself, declares the Lord, that ^amthis house shall become a desolation. 6 For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah:

“‘You are like Gilead to me,
like the summit of ^anLebanon,
yet surely I will make you a desert,
^aoan uninhabited city. ^{▼▼Hebrew cities}
7 ^aqI will prepare destroyers against you,
each with his weapons,
^arand they shall cut down your choicest cedars
and cast them into the fire.
8 “‘And many nations will pass by this city, and every man will say to his neighbor, ^as“Why has the Lord dealt thus with this great city?” 9 ^atAnd they will answer, “Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and worshiped other gods and served them.”’”

10 ^auWeep not for him who is dead,
nor grieve for him,
^avbut weep bitterly for him who goes away,
for he shall return no more
to see his native land.

Message to the Sons of Josiah

11 For thus says the Lord concerning Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, and ^awwho went away from this place: “He shall return here no more, 12 but ^axin the place where they have carried him captive, there shall he die, and he shall never see this land again.”

13 ^ay“Woe to him who builds his house by ^azunrighteousness,
and his upper rooms by injustice,
^bawho makes his neighbor serve him for nothing
and does not give him his wages,
14 who says, ‘I will build myself a great house
with spacious upper rooms,’
who cuts out windows for it,
paneling it with cedar
and ^bbpainting it with vermilion.
15 Do you think you are a king
because you compete in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink
and ^bcdo justice and righteousness?
^bdThen it was well with him.
16 ^beHe judged the cause of the poor and needy;
^bfthen it was well.
Is not this ^bgto know me?
declares the Lord.
17 But you have eyes and heart
only for your dishonest gain,
^bhfor shedding innocent blood,
and for practicing oppression and violence.”
18 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

^bi“They shall not lament for him, saying,
^bj‘Ah, my brother!’ or ‘Ah, sister!’
They shall not lament for him, saying,
^bk‘Ah, lord!’ or ‘Ah, his majesty!’
19 With the burial of a donkey ^blhe shall be buried,
dragged and dumped beyond the gates of Jerusalem.”
20 “Go up to Lebanon, and cry out,
and lift up your voice in Bashan;
cry out from ^bmAbarim,
for all ^bnyour lovers are destroyed.
21 I spoke to you in your prosperity,
but you said, ‘I will not listen.’
^boThis has been your way from ^bpyour youth,
that you have not obeyed my voice.
22 ^bqThe wind shall shepherd all your shepherds,
and ^bryour lovers shall go into captivity;
^bsthen you will be ashamed and confounded
because of all your evil.
23 O inhabitant of ^btLebanon,
nested among the cedars,
how you will be pitied when pangs come upon you,
^bupain as of a woman in labor!”
24 ^bv“As I live, declares the Lord, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were ^bwthe signet ring on my right hand, yet I would tear you off 25 and ^bxgive you ^byinto the hand of those who seek your life, into the hand of those of whom you are afraid, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 ^bzI will hurl you and ^cathe mother who bore you into another country, where you were not born, and there you shall die. 27 But to the land to which they will long to return, there they shall not return.”

28 Is this man ^cbConiah a despised, broken pot,
a ^ccvessel no one cares for?
Why are he and his children hurled and cast
into a ^cdland that they do not know?
29 ^ceO land, land, land,
hear the word of the Lord!
30 Thus says the Lord:
“Write this man down as ^cfchildless,
a man who shall not succeed in his days,
^cgfor none of his offspring shall succeed
^chin sitting on the throne of David
and ruling again in Judah.”