^22:26I will force you and your mother who gave you birth into exile. You will be exiled to⁴⁵ a country where neither of you were born, and you will both die there. ^22:27You will never come back to this land to which you will long to return!”⁴⁶

^22:28This man, Jeconiah, will be like a broken pot someone threw away.

He will be like a clay vessel⁴⁷ that no one wants.⁴⁸

Why will he and his children be forced into exile?

Why will they be thrown out into a country they know nothing about?⁴⁹

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Footnotes

45 Heb “I will hurl you and your mother … into another land where …” The verb used here is very forceful. It is the verb used for Saul throwing a spear at David (1 Sam 18:11) and for the Lord unleashing a violent storm on the sea (Jonah 1:4). It is used both here and in v. 28 for the forceful exile of Jeconiah and his mother.
46 Heb “And unto the land to which they lift up their souls to return there, there they will not return.” Once again there is a sudden shift in person from the second plural to the third plural. As before the translation levels the pronouns to avoid confusion. For the idiom “to lift up the soul to” = “to long/yearn to/for” see 670 נָשָׂא 1.b(9).
47 The word translated “clay vessel” occurs only here. Its meaning, however, is assured on the basis of the parallelism and on the basis of the verb root which is used for shaping or fashioning in Job 10:8. The renders it as “idol,” but that word, while having the same consonants, never appears in the singular. The word is missing in the Greek version but is translated “vessel” in the Latin version. The word “clay” is supplied in the translation to clarify what sort of vessel is meant; its inclusion is justified based on the context and the use of the same verb root in Job 10:8 to refer to shaping or fashioning, which would imply clay pots or vessels.
48 Heb “Is this man, Coniah, a despised, broken vessel or a vessel that no one wants?” The question is rhetorical expecting a positive answer in agreement with the preceding oracle. For the image of the rejected, broken vessel see Jer 19:1–13 (where, however, the vessel is rejected first and then broken) and compare also the image of the linen shorts which are good for nothing in Jer 13 (see especially vv. 10–11).
49 The question “Why?” is a common rhetorical feature in the book of Jeremiah. See Jer 2:14, 31; 8:5, 19, 22; 12:1; 13:22; 14:19. In several cases like this one no answer is given, leaving a sense of exasperation and hopelessness with the sinfulness of the nation that calls forth such punishment from God.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

I will hurl you and the mother who bore you into another country, where you were not born, and there you shall die. But to the land to which they will long to return, there they shall not return.”

Is this man Coniah a despised, broken pot,

a vessel no one cares for?

Why are he and his children hurled and cast

into a land that they do not know?

NIVNew International Version (2011)

I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. You will never come back to the land you long to return to.”

Is this man Jehoiachin a despised, broken pot,

an object no one wants?

Why will he and his children be hurled out,

cast into a land they do not know?

CSBChristian Standard Bible

I will hurl you and the mother who gave birth to you into another land, where neither of you were born, and there you will both die. They will never return to the land they long to return to.”

Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered pot,

a jar no one wants?

Why are he and his descendants hurled out

and cast into a land they have not known?

NLTNew Living Translation

I will expel you and your mother from this land, and you will die in a foreign country, not in your native land. You will never again return to the land you yearn for.

“Why is this man Jehoiachin like a discarded, broken jar?

Why are he and his children to be exiled to a foreign land?

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And I will throw you and your mother who gave birth to you to another country where you were not born, and there you will die. As for the land to which they are longing to return, they will not return.

Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered vessel?

Or a vessel in which there is no delight?

Why are he and his offspring thrown far,

and cast away to the land that they do not know?”

KJV 1900King James Version

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

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