Jeremiah 21:1–22:23
21 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur, the son of Malchiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, ⌊saying⌋,a 2 “Please inquire of Yahweh on behalf of us, for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon is fighting against us. Perhaps Yahweh will do with us according to all his miraculous acts, so that he may ⌊withdraw from⌋b us.”
3 Then Jeremiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah: 4 ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: “Look, I am about to turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands,c with which you are fighting against them, the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are laying siege to you from outside the wall, and I will gather them into the center of this city. 5 And I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand, and with strong arm, and in ⌊anger⌋,d and in fury, and in great wrath. 6 And I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both humankind and animal; by a great plague they will die. 7 And ⌊afterward⌋,”e ⌊declares⌋f Yahweh, “I will give Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and those who remain in this city from the plague, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their lives, and he will strike them with the ⌊edge⌋g of the sword. He will not take pity on them, and he will not have compassion, nor will he show compassion.” ’
The Way of Life and the Way of Death
8 “And to this people you shall say, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Look, I am setting ⌊before you⌋h the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who stays in this city will die by the sword, or by the famine, or by the plague. And he who goes out and goes over to the Chaldeans who are laying siege to you will live, and his life will be to him as booty. 10 For I have set my face against this city for evil and not for good,” ⌊declares⌋i Yahweh. It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire.” ’
A Series of Messages for the House of the King of Judah
11 “And to the house of the king of Judah, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, 12 O house of David, thus says Yahweh,
“Execute judgment in the morning, justice,
and deliver the one who has been seized
from the hand of the oppressor,
lest my wrath goes forth like the fire and it burns,
and there is no one who quenches itj
because of the evil of your deeds.
O inhabitantsk of the valley,
O rock of the plain,” ⌊declares⌋l Yahweh;
“you who say, ‘Who can descend against us,
or who can enter into our hiding place?’
according to the fruit of your deeds,” ⌊declares⌋m Yahweh,
“And I will kindle a fire in its forest,
and it will devour all its surroundings.” ’ ”
22 Thus says Yahweh: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and you must speak this word there. 2 And you must say, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people who enter through these gates. 3 Thus says Yahweh, “Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been seized from the hand of the oppressor. And you must not oppress or treat violently the immigrant, the orphan, and the widow. And you must not shed innocent blood in this place. 4 And if you indeed obey this word, then kings who sit for David on his throne will enter through the gates of this house, riding in chariotsa and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people. 5 But if you do not obey these words, I swear by myself,” ⌊declares⌋b Yahweh, “that this house will become a site of ruins.” ’ ”
6 For thus says Yahweh concerning the house of the king of Judah,
“You are like Gilead to me,
like the head of the Lebanon.
⌊Surely⌋c I will make you a desert,d
like cities that are not inhabited.
7 And I will consecrate against you destroyers,
everyone with his weapons,
and they will cut down ⌊your choicest cedars⌋,e
and cast themf on the fire.
8 And many nations will pass by this city and they will say each one to his neighbor, ‘⌊Why⌋g has Yahweh done in this manner to this great city?’ 9 Then they will answer, ‘Because they abandoned the covenant of Yahweh their God, and bowed down in worship to other gods, and served them.’ ”
10 You must not weep for the dead person,
and you must not show sympathy for him.
Weep bitterly for the one who goes away,
for he will not return, or see the land of his birth again.
11 For thus says Yahweh concerning Shallum, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, who reigned as king in place of Josiah his father, who went out from this place: “He will not return here again. 12 But in the place where they have deported him, there he will die, and he will not see this land again.
13 Woe to the one who builds his house without righteousness,
and his upper rooms without justice.
His fellow countryman, he works for nothing,
and he does not give to him his wages.h
14 Who says ‘I will build for myself
a spacious house with large upper rooms,’
and he cuts windows for it,
and it isi paneled with cedar,
and he paints itj with vermilion.
15 Do you reign as king because you are competing in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink,
and he did justice and righteousness,
then it was well with him?
16 He judged the legal cause of the needy and the poor,
and then it was well.
⌊Is that not what it means to know me⌋?k” ⌊declares⌋l Yahweh.
17 “But there is nothing in your eyes and your heart
⌊except⌋m your unlawful gain,
and on shedding the blood of the innocent,
and on committing oppression and extortion.”
18 ⌊Therefore⌋n thus says Yahweh concerning Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah:
“They will not lament for him,
‘Alas, my brother,’ or ‘Alas, sister.’
They will not lament for him,
‘Alas, lord,’ or ‘alas, his majesty.’
19 He will be buried with the burial of a donkey.
He will beo dragged away and thrown ⌊outside⌋p the gates of Jerusalem.
20 Go up to Lebanon and cry out,
and in Bashan lift up your voice,
and cry out from Abarim,
for all your lovers are shattered.
21 I spoke to you ⌊in the times you were secure⌋,q
and you said, ‘I will not listen!’
This was your way from your youth,
for you have not obeyed my voice.
22 All your shepherds will shepherd the wind,
and your lovers will go into captivity.
Yes, then you will be ashamed and humiliated
because of all your wickedness.
23 Inhabitantsr of Lebanon,
nestled among the cedars,
how you will groan when labor pains come to you,
anguish as the woman who gives birth.