Jer 22, Jer 30 | ESV | STEP | Thus says the Lord : Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word ,

1 Thus says the Lord: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word, 2 and say, ^a‘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: ^bDo justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And ^cdo no wrong or violence ^dto the resident alien, ^ethe fatherless, and the widow, nor ^fshed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you will indeed obey this word, ^gthen 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 ^hswear by myself, declares the Lord, that ⁱthis 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 ^jLebanon,
yet surely I will make you a desert,
^kan uninhabited city. ^{▼▼Hebrew cities}
7 ^mI will prepare destroyers against you,
each with his weapons,
ⁿand 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, ^o“Why has the Lord dealt thus with this great city?” 9 ^pAnd they will answer, “Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and worshiped other gods and served them.”’”

10 ^qWeep not for him who is dead,
nor grieve for him,
^rbut 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 ^swho went away from this place: “He shall return here no more, 12 but ^tin the place where they have carried him captive, there shall he die, and he shall never see this land again.”

13 ^u“Woe to him who builds his house by ^vunrighteousness,
and his upper rooms by injustice,
^wwho 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 ^xpainting it with vermilion.
15 Do you think you are a king
because you compete in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink
and ^ydo justice and righteousness?
^zThen it was well with him.
16 ^aaHe judged the cause of the poor and needy;
^abthen it was well.
Is not this ^acto know me?
declares the Lord.
17 But you have eyes and heart
only for your dishonest gain,
^adfor shedding innocent blood,
and for practicing oppression and violence.”
18 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

^ae“They shall not lament for him, saying,
^af‘Ah, my brother!’ or ‘Ah, sister!’
They shall not lament for him, saying,
^ag‘Ah, lord!’ or ‘Ah, his majesty!’
19 With the burial of a donkey ^ahhe 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 ^aiAbarim,
for all ^ajyour lovers are destroyed.
21 I spoke to you in your prosperity,
but you said, ‘I will not listen.’
^akThis has been your way from ^alyour youth,
that you have not obeyed my voice.
22 ^amThe wind shall shepherd all your shepherds,
and ^anyour lovers shall go into captivity;
^aothen you will be ashamed and confounded
because of all your evil.
23 O inhabitant of ^apLebanon,
nested among the cedars,
how you will be pitied when pangs come upon you,
^aqpain as of a woman in labor!”
24 ^ar“As I live, declares the Lord, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were ^asthe signet ring on my right hand, yet I would tear you off 25 and ^atgive you ^auinto 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 ^avI will hurl you and ^awthe 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 ^axConiah a despised, broken pot,
a ^ayvessel no one cares for?
Why are he and his children hurled and cast
into a ^azland that they do not know?
29 ^baO land, land, land,
hear the word of the Lord!
30 Thus says the Lord:
“Write this man down as ^bbchildless,
a man who shall not succeed in his days,
^bcfor none of his offspring shall succeed
^bdin sitting on the throne of David
and ruling again in Judah.”

Jeremiah 30

Restoration for Israel and Judah

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ^beWrite in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. 3 ^bfFor behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, ^bgwhen I will restore ^bhthe fortunes of my people, ^biIsrael and Judah, says the Lord, ^bjand I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.”

4 These are the words that the Lord spoke concerning ^bkIsrael and Judah:

5 “Thus says the Lord:
We have heard a cry of panic,
of terror, and no peace.
6 Ask now, and see,
can a man bear a child?
^blWhy then do I see every man
with his hands on his stomach ^bmlike a woman in labor?
^bnWhy has every face turned pale?
7 Alas! ^boThat day is so great
^bpthere is none like it;
it is a time of distress for Jacob;
yet he shall be saved out of it.
8 “And it shall come to pass in that day, declares the Lord of hosts, that I will ^bqbreak his ^bryoke from off your neck, and I will ^bsburst your bonds, ^btand foreigners shall no more make a servant of him. ^{▼▼Or serve him} 9 But they shall serve the Lord their God and ^bvDavid their king, whom I will raise up for them.

10 ^bw“Then fear not, ^bxO Jacob my servant, declares the Lord,
nor be dismayed, O Israel;
for behold, ^byI will save you from far away,
^bzand your offspring from the land of their captivity.
^caJacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
and none shall make him afraid.
11 ^cbFor I am with you to save you,

declares the Lord;
^ccI will make a full end of all the nations
among whom I scattered you,
but of you I will not make a full end.
^cdI will ^cediscipline you in just measure,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished.
12 “For thus says the Lord:
^cfYour hurt is incurable,
^cgand your wound is grievous.
13 There is none to uphold your cause,
no medicine for your wound,
^chno healing for you.
14 ^ciAll your lovers have forgotten you;
they care nothing for you;
for I have dealt you the blow of ^cjan enemy,
the punishment ^ckof a merciless foe,
because your guilt is great,
^clbecause your sins are flagrant.
15 ^cmWhy do you cry out over your hurt?
^cnYour pain is incurable.
Because your guilt is great,
^cobecause your sins are flagrant,
I have done these things to you.
16 ^cpTherefore all who devour you shall be devoured,
and ^cqall your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity;
^crthose who plunder you shall be plundered,
^csand all who prey on you I will make a prey.
17 ^ctFor I will restore ^cuhealth to you,
and ^cvyour wounds I will heal,

declares the Lord,
because ^cwthey have called you an outcast:
^cx‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’
18 “Thus says the Lord:
Behold, ^cyI will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob
and have compassion on his dwellings;
the city shall be rebuilt on ^czits mound,
and the palace shall stand where it used to be.
19 ^daOut of them shall come songs of thanksgiving,
and the voices of those who celebrate.
^dbI will multiply them, and they shall not be few;
I will make them honored, and they shall not be small.
20 ^dcTheir children shall be as they were of old,
and their congregation shall be established before me,
and I will punish all who oppress them.
21 ^ddTheir prince shall be one of themselves;
^detheir ruler shall come out from their midst;
^dfI will make him draw near, and he shall approach me,
^dgfor who would dare of himself to approach me?

declares the Lord.
22 ^dhAnd you shall be my people,
and I will be your God.”
23 ^diBehold ^djthe storm of the Lord!
Wrath has gone forth,
a whirling tempest;
it will burst upon the head of the wicked.
24 ^dkThe fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back
until he has executed and accomplished
the intentions of his mind.
^dlIn the latter days you will understand this.