Jeremiah 22:13–18

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. 

¹⁴He 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. 

¹⁵Do 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. 

¹⁶He 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.” 

¹⁸This 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!”