Jeremiah 21–52

The Lord Refuses Zedekiah’s Appeal

21A message came to me from the Lord. It came when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur to me. Pashhur was the son of Malkijah. Zedekiah sent the priest Zephaniah along with him. Zephaniah was the son of Maaseiah. They said to me, ²“Ask the Lord to help us. Nebuchadnezzar is attacking us. He is king of Babylonia. In the past the Lord did wonderful things for us. Maybe he’ll do them again. Then Nebuchadnezzar will pull his armies back from us.”

³But I answered them, “Tell Zedekiah and his people, ⁴‘The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, “The king of Babylonia and his armies are all around this city. They are getting ready to attack you. You have weapons of war in your hands to fight against them. But I am about to turn your weapons against you. And I will bring your enemies inside this city.

⁵“ ‘ “I myself will fight against you. I will reach out my powerful hand and mighty arm. I will come against you with all of my burning anger. ⁶I will strike down those who live in this city. I will kill people and animals alike. They will die of a terrible plague.

⁷“ ‘ “After that, I will hand you over to your enemies who want to kill you,” announces the Lord. “I will hand over Zedekiah, the king of Judah. I will hand over his officials and the people in this city who live through the plague, war and hunger. All of them will be turned over to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia. He will kill them with swords. He will not show them any kindness. He will not feel sorry for them. In fact, he will not have any concern for them at all.” ’

⁸“Tell the people, ‘The Lord says, “I am offering you a choice. You can choose the way that leads to life. Or you can choose the way that leads to death. ⁹Those who stay in this city will die of war, hunger or plague. But those who go out and give themselves up to the Babylonians who are attacking you will live. They will escape with their lives.

¹⁰“ ‘ “I have decided to do this city harm and not good,” announces the Lord. “It will be handed over to the king of Babylonia. And he will destroy it with fire.” ’

¹¹“Also speak to Judah’s royal family. Tell them, ‘Listen to the Lord’s message. ¹²The Lord says to you who belong to David’s royal house,

“ ‘ “Every morning do what is right and fair.

Save those who have been robbed.

Set them free from the people who have treated them badly.

If you do not, my anger will blaze out against you.

It will burn like fire because of the evil things you have done.

No one will be able to put it out.

¹³Jerusalem, I am against you,”

announces the Lord.

“You live above this valley.

You are on a high, rocky flatland.

And you say, ‘Who can come against us?

Who can enter our place of safety?’

¹⁴But I will punish you in keeping with what you have done,”

announces the Lord.

“I will start a fire in your forests.

It will burn up everything around you.” ’ ”

The Lord Judges Evil Kings

22The Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, go down to the palace of the king of Judah. Announce my message there. Tell him, ²‘King of Judah, listen to the Lord’s message. You are sitting on David’s throne. You and your officials and your people come through these gates. ³The Lord says, “Do what is fair and right. Save those who have been robbed. Set them free from the people who have treated them badly. Do not do anything wrong to outsiders or widows in this place. Do not harm children whose fathers have died. Do not kill those who are not guilty of doing anything wrong.

⁴“ ‘ “Be careful to obey those commands. Then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace. They will come riding in chariots and on horses. Their officials and their people will come along with them.

⁵“ ‘ “But suppose you do not obey those commands,” announces the Lord. “Then I promise you that this palace will be destroyed. I make that promise by taking an oath in my own name.” ’ ”

⁶The Lord speaks about the palace of the king of Judah. He says,

“You are like the land of Gilead to me.

You are like the highest mountain in Lebanon.

But I will make you like a desert.

You will become like towns that no one lives in.

⁷I will send destroyers against you.

All of them will come with their weapons.

They will cut up your fine cedar beams.

They will throw them into the fire.

⁸“People from many nations will pass by this city. They will ask one another, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’

⁹“And the answer will be, ‘Because its people have turned away from the covenant the Lord their God made with them. They have worshiped other gods. And they have served them.’ ”

¹⁰Don’t sob over dead King Josiah.

Don’t be sad because he’s gone.

Instead, sob bitterly over King Jehoahaz.

He was forced to leave his country.

He will never return.

He’ll never see his own land again.

¹¹Jehoahaz became king of Judah after his father Josiah. But he has gone away from this place. That’s because the Lord says about him, “He will never return. ¹²He will die in Egypt. That is where he was taken as a prisoner. He will not see this land again.”

¹³The Lord says, “How terrible it will be for King Jehoiakim!

He builds his palace

by mistreating his people.

He builds its upstairs rooms

with money that was gained by sinning.

He makes his own people work for nothing.

He does not pay them for what they do.

¹⁴He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace.

It will have large rooms upstairs.’

So he makes big windows in it.

He covers its walls with cedar boards.

He decorates it with red paint.

¹⁵“Jehoiakim, does having more and more cedar boards

make you a king?

Your father Josiah had enough to eat and drink.

He did what was right and fair.

So everything went well with him.

¹⁶He stood up for those who were poor or needy.

So everything went well with him.

That is what it means to know me,”

announces the Lord.

¹⁷“Jehoiakim, the only thing on your mind

is to get rich by cheating others.

You would even kill people who are not guilty

of doing anything wrong.

You would mistreat them.

You would take everything they own.”

¹⁸So the Lord speaks about King Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah. He says,

“His people will not sob over him.

They will not say,

‘My poor brother! My poor sister!’

They will not sob over him.

They will not say,

‘My poor master! How sad that his glory is gone!’

¹⁹In fact, he will be buried like a donkey.

His body will be dragged away and thrown

outside the gates of Jerusalem.”

²⁰The Lord says, “People of Jerusalem, go up to Lebanon.

Cry out for help.

Let your voice be heard in the land of Bashan.

Cry out from the mountains of Abarim.

All those who were going to help you are crushed.

²¹When you felt secure, I warned you.

But you said, ‘I won’t listen!’

You have acted like that ever since you were young.

You have not obeyed me.

²²The wind will drive all of your shepherds away.

All those who were going to help you will be carried off as prisoners.

Then you will be dishonored and put to shame.

That will happen because you have been so sinful.

²³Some of you live in Jerusalem in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

You are comfortable in your cedar buildings.

But you will groan when pain comes on you.

It will be like the pain of a woman having a baby.

²⁴“King Jehoiachin, you are the son of Jehoiakim,” announces the Lord. “Suppose you were a ring on my right hand. And suppose the ring even had my royal seal on it. Then I would still pull you off my finger. And that is just as sure as I am alive.

²⁵“I will hand you over to those who are trying to kill you. I will turn you over to people you are afraid of. I will give you to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia. I will hand you over to his armies.

²⁶“I will throw you out into another country. I will throw your mother out. Neither of you was born in that country. But both of you will die there. ²⁷You will never come back to the land you long to return to.”

²⁸This man Jehoiachin is like a broken pot.

Everyone hates him. No one wants him.

Why will he and his children be thrown out of this land?

Why will they be sent to a land

they didn’t have anything to do with before?

²⁹Land, land, land,

listen to the Lord’s message!

³⁰The Lord says,

“Let the record say that this man did not have any children.

Let it report that he did not have any success in life.

None of his children will have success either.

None of them will sit on David’s throne.

None of them will ever rule over Judah.

The True and Rightful Branch

23“How terrible it will be for the shepherds who lead my people down the wrong path!” announces the Lord. “They are destroying and scattering the sheep that belong to my flock.”

²So the Lord, the God of Israel, speaks to the shepherds who take care of my people. He tells them, “You have scattered my sheep. You have driven them away. You have not taken good care of them. So I will punish you for the evil things you have done,” announces the Lord.

³“I myself will gather together those who are left alive in my flock. I will gather them out of all of the countries where I have driven them. And I will bring them back to their own land. There my sheep will have many lambs. Their numbers will increase.

⁴“I will place shepherds over them who will take good care of them. My sheep will not be afraid or terrified anymore. And none of them will be missing,” announces the Lord.

⁵“A new day is coming,” announces the Lord.

“At that time I will raise up from David’s royal line

a true and rightful Branch.

He will be a King who will rule wisely.

He will do what is fair and right in the land.

⁶In his days Judah will be saved.

Israel will live in safety.

And the Branch will be called

The Lord Who Makes Us Right With Himself.

⁷“Other days are also coming,” announces the Lord. “At that time people will no longer say, ‘The Lord brought the people of Israel up out of Egypt. And that’s just as sure as he is alive.’

⁸“Instead, they will say, ‘The Lord brought the people of Israel up out of the land of the north. He gathered them out of all of the countries where he had forced them to go. And…