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The People of Israel Are Like Clay for a Potter

18 The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. He said, “Go to the potter’s house. There I will give you my message.”

I went to the potter’s house, and he was working there at his wheel. Whenever a clay pot he was working on was ruined, he would rework it into a new clay pot the way he wanted to make it.

The Lord spoke his word to me. The Lord asked, “Nation of Israel, can’t I do with you as this potter does with clay? Nation of Israel, you are like the clay in the potter’s hands.

“At one time I may threaten to tear up, break down, and destroy a nation or a kingdom. But suppose the nation that I threatened turns away from doing wrong. Then I will change my plans about the disaster I planned to do to it.

“At another time I may promise to build and plant a nation or a kingdom. 10 But suppose that nation does what I consider evil and doesn’t obey me. Then I will change my plans about the good that I promised to do to it.

11 “Now say to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: I’m going to prepare a disaster and make plans against you. Turn from your evil ways, change your lives, and do good.’

12 “But they will answer, ‘It’s useless! We’ll live the way we want to. We’ll go our own stubborn, evil ways.’

13 “This is what the Lord says:

Ask among the nations if anyone has ever heard anything like this.
The people of Israel have done a very horrible thing.
14 The rocky slopes of Lebanon are never without snow.
The cool mountain streams never dry up.
15 But my people have forgotten me.
They burn incense as an offering to worthless idols,
and they stumble along the way, on the ancient path.
They go on side roads and not on major highways.
16 Their land will become desolate
and something to be hissed at forever.
Everyone who will pass by it will be stunned and shake his head.
17 Like the east wind I will scatter them in front of the enemy.
On the day of their disaster,
I will show them my back, not my face.”

18 Then they said, “Let’s plot against Jeremiah, because the teachings of the priests, the advice of wise people, and the word of the prophets won’t disappear. Accuse him! Pay no attention to anything he says.”

19 Pay attention to me, O Lord,
and listen to what my accusers say.
20 Good should not be paid back with evil.
They dig a pit to take my life.
Remember how I stood in your presence and pleaded for them
in order to turn your anger away from them.
21 Now, hand their children over to famine.
Pour out their ⌞blood⌟ by using your sword.
Then their wives will become childless widows.
Their husbands will be put to death.
Their young men will be struck down in battle.
22 Make them cry out from their homes
when you suddenly send troops against them,
because they dug a pit to catch me and hid snares for my feet.
23 But you, O Lord, know that they plan to kill me.
Don’t forgive their crimes.
Don’t wipe their sins out of your sight.
Make them stumble in your presence.
Deal with them when you get angry.

Israel Will Be Smashed Like a Clay Jar

19 This is what the Lord says: Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the leaders of the people and some of the leaders of the priests. Go to the valley of Ben Hinnom at the entrance to Potsherd Gate. Announce there the things I plan to do. Say, “Listen to the Lord’s word, you kings of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I’m going to bring such a disaster on this place that the ears of everyone who hears about it will ring.

“The people, their ancestors, and the kings of Judah have abandoned me. They have made this place unrecognizable by burning incense as an offering to other gods that they hadn’t heard of. They have filled this place with the blood of innocent people. They have built worship sites to burn their children as sacrifices to Baal. I didn’t ask them or command them to do this. It never entered my mind.

“That is why the days are coming, declares the Lord, when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben Hinnom. Instead, it will be called Slaughter Valley. I will smash the plans of Judah and Jerusalem in this place. I will cut them down with swords in front of their enemies and with the hands of those who want to kill them. I will give their bodies as food to birds and to animals. I will devastate this city. It will become something to hiss at. Everyone who goes by it will be stunned and hiss with contempt at all the disasters that happen to it. I will make the people eat the flesh of their sons and daughters. They will eat each other’s flesh during blockades and hardships that their enemies impose on them when they want to kill them.”

10 ⌞The Lord says,⌟ “Then smash the jar in front of the men who went with you. 11 Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says: I will smash these people and this city as this potter’s jar was smashed beyond repair. They will bury ⌞the dead⌟ in Topheth until there’s no other place to bury them. 12 That’s what I will do to this place and to those who live in it, declares the Lord. I will make this city like Topheth. 13 The houses in Jerusalem, the houses of the kings of Judah, and all the rooftops of the houses will be unclean [a] like this city Topheth. This is because people burned incense to the entire army of heaven and poured out wine offerings to other gods.’ ”

14 Then Jeremiah left Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy. He stood in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple and said to all the people, 15 “This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I’m going to bring on this city and on all its towns the disasters that I threatened. They’ve become impossible to deal with, and they refuse to obey me.”

Pashhur Imprisons Jeremiah

20 Now the priest, Immer’s son Pashhur, the chief officer of the Lord’s temple, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. Pashhur struck the prophet Jeremiah and put him in prison at Upper Benjamin Gate that was in the Lord’s temple.

The next day when Pashhur took Jeremiah out of prison, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord doesn’t call you Pashhur, but he calls you Terror Everywhere. This is what the Lord says: I’m going to make you terrify yourself and all your friends. Their enemies’ swords will kill them, and you will see it with your own eyes. I will hand all of Judah over to the king of Babylon. He will take the people away as captives to Babylon or kill them with swords. I will hand all the riches of this city over to their enemies. This will include all its produce, all its valuables, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. Their enemies will loot them, take them away, and bring them to Babylon. And you, Pashhur, and all those who live in your house will go into captivity. You will go to Babylon, and you will die there. You will be buried there together with all your friends to whom you prophesied these lies.”

Jeremiah Prays to the Lord

O Lord, you have deceived me, and I was deceived.
You overpowered me and won.
I’ve been made fun of all day long.
Everyone mocks me.
Each time I speak, I have to cry out and shout,
“Violence and destruction!”
The Lord’s word has made me the object of insults
and contempt all day long.
I think to myself, “I can forget the Lord
and no longer speak his name.”
But ⌞his word⌟ is inside me like a burning fire shut up in my bones.
I wear myself out holding it in, but I can’t do it any longer.
10 I have heard many ⌞people⌟ whispering,
“Terror is everywhere!
Report him! Let’s report him!”
All my closest friends are waiting to see me stumble.
They say, “Maybe he will be tricked.
Then we can overpower him and take revenge on him.”
11 But the Lord is on my side like a terrifying warrior.
That is why those who persecute me will stumble. They can’t win.
They will be very ashamed that they can’t succeed.
Their eternal shame will not be forgotten.
12 But the Lord of Armies examines the righteous.
He sees their motives and thoughts.
I want to see you take revenge on them,
because I’ve brought my case to you.
13 Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord!
He has rescued the lives of needy people
from the power of wicked people.

14 Cursed is the day that I was born,
the day that my mother gave birth to me.
May it not be blessed.
15 Cursed is the man who made my father very happy with the news
that he had just become the father of a baby boy.
16 May that man be like the cities
that the Lord destroyed without pity.
May he hear a cry of alarm in the morning
and a battle cry at noon.
17 If only he had killed me while I was in the womb.
Then my mother would have been my grave,
and she would have always been pregnant.
18 Why did I come out of the womb?
All I’ve seen is trouble and grief.
I will finish my days in shame.

Jerusalem Will Be Captured by the Babylonians

21 The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur, son of Malchiah, and the priest Zephaniah, son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah. They said, “Consult the Lord for us, because King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is attacking us. Maybe the Lord will perform miracles for us so that Nebuchadnezzar will retreat.”

Jeremiah responded to them, “This is what you should say to Zedekiah, ‘This is what the Lord God of Israel says: I’m going to take your weapons away from you. You are using these weapons to fight the king of Babylon as well as the Babylonians who are now blockading you outside the wall. I will bring the Babylonians inside this city. I will fight you in anger, fury, and rage with my powerful hand and my mighty arm. I will defeat those who live in this city, both people and animals. They will die from a terrible plague. Afterwards, declares the Lord, I will hand over Judah’s King Zedekiah, his officials, the people, and everyone else in this city who survives the plague, war, and famine. They will be handed over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and to their enemies who want to kill them. Nebuchadnezzar will kill them with swords. He won’t spare them, show them compassion, or care for them.’

“Say to these people, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to give you the choice of life or death. Those who live in this city will die in the war, famine, or plague. Those of you who go out and surrender to the Babylonians will live. You will escape with your lives. 10 I’ve decided to harm this city, not to do good to it, declares the Lord. It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down.’

11 “Say to the nation of the king of Judah, ‘Listen to the Lord’s word, 12 descendants of David. This is what the Lord says:

Judge fairly every morning.
Rescue those who have been robbed from those who oppress them.
Otherwise, my fury will break out and burn like fire.
No one will be able to put it out
because of the evil things you have done.

13 “ ‘I’m against you, Jerusalem.
You are the city that is in the valley
and on the rock in the plain,’ ”
declares the Lord.
“ ‘But you ask, “Who can attack us?
Who can enter our places of refuge?”

14 “ ‘I will punish you because of the evil things you have done,’ ”
declares the Lord.
“ ‘I will start a fire in your forests,
and it will burn up everything around you.’ ”

Warnings to the Wicked Kings

22 This is what the Lord says: Go to the palace of the king of Judah, and speak this message there: “Listen to the Lord’s word, you officials, you people who come into these gates, and you, king of Judah, the one sitting on David’s throne.

“This is what the Lord says: Judge fairly, and do what is right. Rescue those who have been robbed from those who oppress them. Don’t mistreat foreigners, orphans, or widows, and don’t oppress them. Don’t kill innocent people in this place. If you do what I say, then the kings who sit on David’s throne will ride through the gates of this palace in chariots and on horses along with their officials and their people. But if you don’t do what I say, I will take an oath on myself,” declares the Lord, “that this palace will become a pile of rubble.

“This is what the Lord says about the palace of the king of Judah:

This palace is like Gilead to me,
like the top of Lebanon.
I will certainly turn it into a desert,
into cities that no one lives in.
I will send people to destroy you.
They will have their own weapons.
They will cut down your finest cedar trees
and throw them on a fire.

“People from many nations will pass by this city and ask each other, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this important city?’ The answer will be: ‘They rejected the promise [b] of the Lord their God. They worshiped other gods and served them.’ ”

10 Don’t cry for the dead.
Don’t shake your heads at them.
Cry bitterly for those who are taken away,
because they won’t come back to see their homeland.

11 This is what the Lord says about King Josiah’s son Shallum, who succeeded his father as king of Judah and left this place: He will never come back here again. 12 He will die in the place where he was taken captive, and he will never see this land again.

13 “How horrible it will be for the person who builds his house dishonestly
and his upper rooms through injustice.
He makes his neighbors work for nothing
and doesn’t pay them for their work.
14 He says, ‘I will build a large house for myself with big upper rooms.’
He cuts out windows in it,
panels the rooms with cedar,
and paints them red.
15 Do you think you’re a better king than others
because you use more cedar?
Your father ate and drank and did what is fair and right.
Everything went well for him.
16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy.
Everything went well for him.
Isn’t this what it means to know me?” asks the Lord.
17 “But your eyes and your mind are set on nothing but dishonest profits.
You kill innocent people and violently oppress your people.”

18 This is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim, son of Judah’s King Josiah:

People won’t mourn for him and say,
“How horrible it is for my brother and sister!”
They won’t mourn for him and say,
“How horrible it is for my master and his splendor!”
19 He will receive a donkey’s burial.
He will be dragged off and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.

20 “Go to Lebanon and cry! Raise your voice in Bashan!
Cry out from Abarim, because all your lovers are defeated.”

21 I spoke to you when you were prosperous,
but you said that you wouldn’t listen.
This is how you’ve been ever since you were young.
You don’t listen to me.
22 The wind will blow away all your shepherds,
and your lovers will go into captivity.
Then you will be ashamed and disgraced by all your wickedness.
23 You live in Lebanon and have your nest in the cedars.
But you will groan when pain strikes you,
pain like a woman giving birth to a child.

24 “As I live,” declares the Lord, “even though you, Jehoiakin,[c] son of Judah’s King Jehoiakim, are the signet ring on my right hand, I will pull you off my hand. 25 I will hand you over to those who want to kill you, those you fear—King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the Babylonians. 26 I will throw you and your mother into another land. You weren’t born there, but you will die there. 27 You will want to return to this land, but you won’t be allowed to come home.”

28 This Jehoiakin is like a rejected and broken pot that no one wants.
Is that why he and his descendants will be thrown out
and cast into another land they’ve never heard of?
29 O land, land, land!
Listen to the Lord’s word.

30 This is what the Lord says:

Write this about Jehoiakin: He will be childless.
He won’t prosper in his lifetime.
None of his descendants will succeed him as king.
They won’t sit on David’s throne and rule Judah again.

Footnotes

  1. 19:13 Unclean   ” refers to anything that Moses’ Teachings say is not presentable to God.
  2. 22:9 Or “covenant.”
  3. 22:24 Masoretic Text “Coniah,” an alternate form of Jehoiakin.

At the Potter’s House

18 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay(A) in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand,(B) Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted,(C) torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent(D) and not inflict on it the disaster(E) I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built(F) up and planted, 10 and if it does evil(G) in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider(H) the good I had intended to do for it.(I)

11 “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster(J) for you and devising a plan(K) against you. So turn(L) from your evil ways,(M) each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’(N) 12 But they will reply, ‘It’s no use.(O) We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.(P)’”

13 Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“Inquire among the nations:
    Who has ever heard anything like this?(Q)
A most horrible(R) thing has been done
    by Virgin(S) Israel.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon
    ever vanish from its rocky slopes?
Do its cool waters from distant sources
    ever stop flowing?[a]
15 Yet my people have forgotten(T) me;
    they burn incense(U) to worthless idols,(V)
which made them stumble(W) in their ways,
    in the ancient paths.(X)
They made them walk in byways,
    on roads not built up.(Y)
16 Their land will be an object of horror(Z)
    and of lasting scorn;(AA)
all who pass by will be appalled(AB)
    and will shake their heads.(AC)
17 Like a wind(AD) from the east,
    I will scatter them before their enemies;
I will show them my back and not my face(AE)
    in the day of their disaster.”

18 They said, “Come, let’s make plans(AF) against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest(AG) will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise,(AH) nor the word from the prophets.(AI) So come, let’s attack him with our tongues(AJ) and pay no attention to anything he says.”

19 Listen to me, Lord;
    hear what my accusers(AK) are saying!
20 Should good be repaid with evil?(AL)
    Yet they have dug a pit(AM) for me.
Remember that I stood(AN) before you
    and spoke in their behalf(AO)
    to turn your wrath away from them.
21 So give their children over to famine;(AP)
    hand them over to the power of the sword.(AQ)
Let their wives be made childless and widows;(AR)
    let their men be put to death,
    their young men(AS) slain by the sword in battle.
22 Let a cry(AT) be heard from their houses
    when you suddenly bring invaders against them,
for they have dug a pit(AU) to capture me
    and have hidden snares(AV) for my feet.
23 But you, Lord, know
    all their plots to kill(AW) me.
Do not forgive(AX) their crimes
    or blot out their sins from your sight.
Let them be overthrown before you;
    deal with them in the time of your anger.(AY)

19 This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter.(AZ) Take along some of the elders(BA) of the people and of the priests and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom,(BB) near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you, and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings(BC) of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster(BD) on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle.(BE) For they have forsaken(BF) me and made this a place of foreign gods(BG); they have burned incense(BH) in it to gods that neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.(BI) They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children(BJ) in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.(BK) So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call this place Topheth(BL) or the Valley of Ben Hinnom,(BM) but the Valley of Slaughter.(BN)

“‘In this place I will ruin[b] the plans(BO) of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies,(BP) at the hands of those who want to kill them, and I will give their carcasses(BQ) as food(BR) to the birds and the wild animals. I will devastate this city and make it an object of horror and scorn;(BS) all who pass by will be appalled(BT) and will scoff because of all its wounds.(BU) I will make them eat(BV) the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh because their enemies(BW) will press the siege so hard against them to destroy them.’

10 “Then break the jar(BX) while those who go with you are watching, 11 and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I will smash(BY) this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired. They will bury(BZ) the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. 12 This is what I will do to this place and to those who live here, declares the Lord. I will make this city like Topheth. 13 The houses(CA) in Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled(CB) like this place, Topheth—all the houses where they burned incense on the roofs(CC) to all the starry hosts(CD) and poured out drink offerings(CE) to other gods.’”

14 Jeremiah then returned from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court(CF) of the Lord’s temple and said to all the people, 15 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on this city and all the villages around it every disaster(CG) I pronounced against them, because they were stiff-necked(CH) and would not listen(CI) to my words.’”

Jeremiah and Pashhur

20 When the priest Pashhur son of Immer,(CJ) the official(CK) in charge of the temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten(CL) and put in the stocks(CM) at the Upper Gate of Benjamin(CN) at the Lord’s temple. The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord’s name(CO) for you is not Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side.(CP) For this is what the Lord says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyes(CQ) you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. I will give(CR) all Judah into the hands of the king of Babylon, who will carry(CS) them away to Babylon or put them to the sword. I will deliver all the wealth(CT) of this city into the hands of their enemies—all its products, all its valuables and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will take it away(CU) as plunder and carry it off to Babylon. And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied(CV) lies.’”

Jeremiah’s Complaint

You deceived[c](CW) me, Lord, and I was deceived[d];
    you overpowered(CX) me and prevailed.
I am ridiculed(CY) all day long;
    everyone mocks(CZ) me.
Whenever I speak, I cry out
    proclaiming violence and destruction.(DA)
So the word of the Lord has brought me
    insult and reproach(DB) all day long.
But if I say, “I will not mention his word
    or speak anymore in his name,”(DC)
his word is in my heart like a fire,(DD)
    a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;(DE)
    indeed, I cannot.
10 I hear many whispering,
    “Terror(DF) on every side!
    Denounce(DG) him! Let’s denounce him!”
All my friends(DH)
    are waiting for me to slip,(DI) saying,
“Perhaps he will be deceived;
    then we will prevail(DJ) over him
    and take our revenge(DK) on him.”

11 But the Lord(DL) is with me like a mighty warrior;
    so my persecutors(DM) will stumble and not prevail.(DN)
They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;(DO)
    their dishonor will never be forgotten.
12 Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous
    and probe the heart and mind,(DP)
let me see your vengeance(DQ) on them,
    for to you I have committed(DR) my cause.

13 Sing(DS) to the Lord!
    Give praise to the Lord!
He rescues(DT) the life of the needy
    from the hands of the wicked.(DU)

14 Cursed be the day I was born!(DV)
    May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!
15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news,
    who made him very glad, saying,
    “A child is born to you—a son!”
16 May that man be like the towns(DW)
    the Lord overthrew without pity.
May he hear wailing(DX) in the morning,
    a battle cry at noon.
17 For he did not kill me in the womb,(DY)
    with my mother as my grave,
    her womb enlarged forever.
18 Why did I ever come out of the womb(DZ)
    to see trouble(EA) and sorrow
    and to end my days in shame?(EB)

God Rejects Zedekiah’s Request

21 The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah(EC) sent to him Pashhur(ED) son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah(EE) son of Maaseiah. They said: “Inquire(EF) now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzar[e](EG) king of Babylon(EH) is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders(EI) for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.”

But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn(EJ) against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians[f] who are outside the wall besieging(EK) you. And I will gather them inside this city. I myself will fight(EL) against you with an outstretched hand(EM) and a mighty arm(EN) in furious anger and in great wrath. I will strike(EO) down those who live in this city—both man and beast—and they will die of a terrible plague.(EP) After that, declares the Lord, I will give Zedekiah(EQ) king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague,(ER) sword and famine, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon(ES) and to their enemies(ET) who want to kill them.(EU) He will put them to the sword;(EV) he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.’(EW)

“Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life(EX) and the way of death. Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague.(EY) But whoever goes out and surrenders(EZ) to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives.(FA) 10 I have determined to do this city harm(FB) and not good, declares the Lord. It will be given into the hands(FC) of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.’(FD)

11 “Moreover, say to the royal house(FE) of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord. 12 This is what the Lord says to you, house of David:

“‘Administer justice(FF) every morning;
    rescue from the hand of the oppressor(FG)
    the one who has been robbed,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire(FH)
    because of the evil(FI) you have done—
    burn with no one to quench(FJ) it.
13 I am against(FK) you, Jerusalem,
    you who live above this valley(FL)
    on the rocky plateau, declares the Lord
you who say, “Who can come against us?
    Who can enter our refuge?”(FM)
14 I will punish you as your deeds(FN) deserve,
    declares the Lord.
I will kindle a fire(FO) in your forests(FP)
    that will consume everything around you.’”

Judgment Against Wicked Kings

22 This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the palace of the king(FQ) of Judah and proclaim this message there: ‘Hear(FR) the word of the Lord to you, king of Judah, you who sit on David’s throne(FS)—you, your officials and your people who come through these gates.(FT) This is what the Lord says: Do what is just(FU) and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor(FV) the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow,(FW) and do not shed innocent blood(FX) in this place. For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings(FY) who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. But if you do not obey(FZ) these commands, declares the Lord, I swear(GA) by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’”

For this is what the Lord says about the palace of the king of Judah:

“Though you are like Gilead(GB) to me,
    like the summit of Lebanon,(GC)
I will surely make you like a wasteland,(GD)
    like towns not inhabited.
I will send destroyers(GE) against you,
    each man with his weapons,
and they will cut(GF) up your fine cedar beams
    and throw them into the fire.(GG)

“People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’(GH) And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods.(GI)’”

10 Do not weep for the dead(GJ) king or mourn(GK) his loss;
    rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled,
because he will never return(GL)
    nor see his native land again.

11 For this is what the Lord says about Shallum[g](GM) son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but has gone from this place: “He will never return. 12 He will die(GN) in the place where they have led him captive; he will not see this land again.”

13 “Woe(GO) to him who builds(GP) his palace by unrighteousness,
    his upper rooms by injustice,
making his own people work for nothing,
    not paying(GQ) them for their labor.
14 He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace(GR)
    with spacious upper rooms.’
So he makes large windows in it,
    panels it with cedar(GS)
    and decorates it in red.(GT)

15 “Does it make you a king
    to have more and more cedar?
Did not your father have food and drink?
    He did what was right and just,(GU)
    so all went well(GV) with him.
16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy,(GW)
    and so all went well.
Is that not what it means to know(GX) me?”
    declares the Lord.
17 “But your eyes and your heart
    are set only on dishonest gain,(GY)
on shedding innocent blood(GZ)
    and on oppression and extortion.”(HA)

18 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:

“They will not mourn(HB) for him:
    ‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’
They will not mourn for him:
    ‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’
19 He will have the burial(HC) of a donkey—
    dragged away and thrown(HD)
    outside the gates of Jerusalem.”

20 “Go up to Lebanon and cry out,(HE)
    let your voice be heard in Bashan,(HF)
cry out from Abarim,(HG)
    for all your allies(HH) are crushed.
21 I warned you when you felt secure,(HI)
    but you said, ‘I will not listen!’
This has been your way from your youth;(HJ)
    you have not obeyed(HK) me.
22 The wind(HL) will drive all your shepherds(HM) away,
    and your allies(HN) will go into exile.
Then you will be ashamed and disgraced(HO)
    because of all your wickedness.
23 You who live in ‘Lebanon,[h](HP)
    who are nestled in cedar buildings,
how you will groan when pangs come upon you,
    pain(HQ) like that of a woman in labor!

24 “As surely as I live,” declares the Lord, “even if you, Jehoiachin[i](HR) son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring(HS) on my right hand, I would still pull you off. 25 I will deliver(HT) you into the hands of those who want to kill you, those you fear—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Babylonians.[j] 26 I will hurl(HU) you and the mother(HV) who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. 27 You will never come back to the land you long to return(HW) to.”

28 Is this man Jehoiachin(HX) a despised, broken pot,(HY)
    an object no one wants?
Why will he and his children be hurled(HZ) out,
    cast into a land(IA) they do not know?
29 O land,(IB) land, land,
    hear the word of the Lord!
30 This is what the Lord says:
“Record this man as if childless,(IC)
    a man who will not prosper(ID) in his lifetime,
for none of his offspring(IE) will prosper,
    none will sit on the throne(IF) of David
    or rule anymore in Judah.”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 18:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
  2. Jeremiah 19:7 The Hebrew for ruin sounds like the Hebrew for jar (see verses 1 and 10).
  3. Jeremiah 20:7 Or persuaded
  4. Jeremiah 20:7 Or persuaded
  5. Jeremiah 21:2 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, of which Nebuchadnezzar is a variant; here and often in Jeremiah and Ezekiel
  6. Jeremiah 21:4 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 9
  7. Jeremiah 22:11 Also called Jehoahaz
  8. Jeremiah 22:23 That is, the palace in Jerusalem (see 1 Kings 7:2)
  9. Jeremiah 22:24 Hebrew Koniah, a variant of Jehoiachin; also in verse 28
  10. Jeremiah 22:25 Or Chaldeans