Jeremiah

Warnings about Jerusalem's destruction due to unfaithfulness, with promises of a new covenant.

Chapter 22

1 Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,

*So says God: Go to the king of Judah's home and say this message there.

2 And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:

*And say, Listen to God's message, King of Judah, who sits on David's throne, along with you, your officials, and your people coming through these gates.

3 Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.

*So God says, "Act justly and fairly, rescue those mistreated by the cruel, and don't harm anyone. Treat foreigners, orphans, and widows with kindness, and don't spill innocent blood."

4 For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.

*If you really do this, kings will come into the house through the gates, sitting on David's throne, riding in chariots and on horses with their servants and people.

5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.

*But if you don't listen to these words, I promise by myself, says the Lord, that this house will turn into a place of ruin.

6 For thus saith the LORD unto the king’s house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.

*So says the Lord to the royal family of Judah: You are like Gilead to me and the leader of Lebanon, but I promise to make you a desert land with empty cities.

7 And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.

*I will send people to destroy you, each with their own weapons. They will cut down your best cedar trees and burn them in a fire.

8 And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this great city?

*Many countries will go past this city, and each person will ask their neighbor, Why did God do this to such a big city?

9 Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.

*Then they will say, It's because they left the agreement with their God, and followed other gods, and served them instead.

10 Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.

*Don't cry for the person who has died; don't mourn them. Instead, cry a lot for the one who is leaving because they won't come back or see their homeland again.

11 For thus saith the LORD touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more:

*This means that the Lord says about Shallum, who was King Josiah's son and ruled after him, that he left this place and will never come back again.

12 But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.

*But he will pass away where they capture him, and won't see this land again.

13 Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour’s service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;

*Woe to the person who builds their home through unfair means and rooms with wrongdoing. They use their neighbor's help without paying them fairly and don't give them proper compensation for their work.

14 That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion.

*This verse says that someone claims they will construct a big house with spacious rooms, including windows, and will decorate it with cedar wood and red paint.

15 Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him?

*Will you rule justly because you are surrounded by cedar trees? Didn't your father also eat, drink, and do what is right and fair? And he was successful too?

16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD.

*He understood the problems of the weak and helpless, which was good for him; wasn't this knowing and helping me? says the Lord.

17 But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.

*But your eyes and heart only care about greed, harming innocent people, oppressing others, and being violent.

18 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!

*So, God says this about Jehoiakim, who was the son of Josiah and king of Judah: People won't mourn for him by saying, 'Oh, my brother!' or 'Oh, my sister!' They also won't mourn by saying, 'Oh, our lord!' or 'Oh, his glory!'

19 He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

*He will be buried like an donkey, dragged out and thrown beyond Jerusalem's gates.

20 Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed.

*"Go to Lebanon and shout; cry out in Bashan too; call out at the crossings, because everyone you loved has died."

21 I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice.

*I talked to you when things were going well, but you said you wouldn't listen. This is how you've always acted since you were young - not listening to my instructions.

22 The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.

*The wind will take away all your leaders, and your loved ones will be captured. You'll feel very embarrassed and confused because of all the bad things you've done.

23 O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!

*Dear person living in Lebanon, who lives in trees called cedars, how kind you will be when you are in pain, like a woman giving birth.

24 As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;

*"I swear," says the Lord, "even if Coniah, son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, was like a seal on my right hand, I would still remove him."

25 And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.

*I will deliver you to those who want to kill you, and to those you are afraid of, including Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and the Chaldeans.

26 And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die.

*I will send you and your mother, who gave birth to you, to a different place where you weren't born. That's where you will pass away.

27 But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return.

*But they can't go back to the land they want to return to.

28 Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?

*Is Coniah a man people hate and consider a broken idol? Is he a useless container with no joy? Why were he and his children thrown away and put in an unfamiliar land?

29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

*Listen, Earth, listen to what the Lord is saying.

30 Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.

*Thus says God, Write this message about a man who has no children and won't be successful in his life: because none of his descendants will be successful either, sitting on David's throne or ruling in Judah anymore.

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