Jer 22 | NASB2020 | STEP | This is what the Lord says : “ Go down to the house of the king of Judah and there speak this word ,

Jeremiah 22

Warning of Jerusalem’s Fall

1 This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and there speak this word, 2 and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who ^asits on David’s throne, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates. 3 This is what the Lord says: “ ^bDo justice and righteousness, and save one who has been robbed from the power of his ^coppressor. And ^ddo not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not ^eshed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you will indeed perform this ^{▼▼Lit word}instruction, then ^gkings will enter the gates of this house, sitting ^{▼▼Lit for David}in David’s place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, the king himself, his servants, and his people. 5 ⁱBut if you will not obey these words, I ^jswear by Myself,” declares the Lord, “that this house will become a place of ruins.”’” 6 For this is what the Lord says concerning the house of the king of Judah:

“You are like ^kGilead to Me,
Like the summit of Lebanon;
Yet most assuredly I will make you a ^lwilderness,
Cities that are not inhabited.
7 “For I will set apart ^mdestroyers against you,
Each with his weapons;
And they will ⁿcut down your choicest cedars
And ^othrow them on the fire.
8 “Many nations will pass by this city; and they will ^psay to one another, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this great city?’ 9 Then they will ^{▼▼Lit say}answer, ‘Because they ^rabandoned the covenant of the Lord their God and bowed down to other gods and served them.’”

10 ^sDo not weep for the dead or mourn for him,
But weep deeply for the one who goes away;
For ^the will never return
Or see his native land.
11 For this is what the Lord says regarding ^{▼▼I.e., Jehoahaz
,} ^vShallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in the place of his father Josiah, who went out from this place: “He will never return there; 12 but in the place where they took him into exile, there he will ^wdie and he will not see this land again.

Messages about the Kings

13 “Woe to him who builds his house ^xwithout righteousness,
And his upstairs rooms without justice,
Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay
And ^ydoes not give him his wages,
14 Who says, ‘I will ^zbuild myself a large house
With spacious upstairs rooms,
And cut out its windows,
^{▼▼Or Paneled}Paneling it with ^abcedar and painting it ^{▼▼Or vermilion}bright red.’
15 “Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar?
Did your father not eat and drink
And ^addo justice and righteousness?
Then it was ^aewell for him.
16 “He pled the cause of the ^afafflicted and the poor,
Then it was well.
^agIs that not what it means to know Me?”
Declares the Lord.
17 “But your eyes and your heart
Are intent only upon your own ^ahdishonest gain,
And on ^aishedding innocent blood,
And on practicing oppression and extortion.”
18 Therefore this is what the Lord says regarding ^ajJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

“They will not ^akmourn for him:
‘ ^alOh, my brother!’ or, ‘Oh, sister!’
They will not mourn for him:
‘Oh, for the master!’ or, ‘Oh, for his splendor!’
19 “He will be ^amburied with a donkey’s burial,
Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20 “Go up to Lebanon and cry out,
And raise your voice in Bashan;
Cry out also from ^anAbarim,
For all your ^aolovers have been crushed.
21 “I spoke to you in your prosperity;
But ^apyou said, ‘I will not listen!’
^aqThis has been your way ^arfrom your youth,
That you have not obeyed My voice.
22 “The wind will sweep away all your ^asshepherds,
And your ^atlovers will go into captivity;
Then you will certainly be ^auashamed and humiliated
Because of all your wickedness.
23 “You who live in Lebanon,
Nested in the cedars,
How you will groan when sharp pains come on you,
^avPain like a woman in childbirth!
24 “As I live,” declares the Lord, “even if ^{▼▼I.e., Jehoiachin
,} ^axConiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a ^aysignet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull ^{▼▼I.e., Jehoiachin}you ^{▼▼Lit off from there}off; 25 and I will ^bbhand you over to those who are seeking your life, yes, to those of whom you are frightened, that is, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Chaldeans. 26 I will ^bchurl you and your ^bdmother who gave birth to you 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 Coniah a despised, shattered jar?
Or is he an ^beundesirable vessel?
Why have he and his descendants been ^bfhurled out
And cast into a ^bgland that they had not known?
29 “ ^bhO land, land, land,
Hear the word of the Lord!
30 This is what the Lord says:

‘Write this man down as ^bichildless,
A man who will ^bjnot prosper in his days;
For no man among his ^bkdescendants will prosper
Sitting on the throne of David
Or ruling again in Judah.’”