22:1 Thus saith Yehovah; Go thou, and go
down to the house of the king of Judah, and thou shalt speak there this word,
22:2 and thou shalt say, Hear the word of Yehovah, O king of Judah, that
sittest on the throne of David, thou, and thy house, and thy people, and
they that go in at these gates:
22:3 thus saith Yehovah; Execute ye judgment and justice, and rescue the
spoiled out of the hand of him that wrongs him: and oppress not the
stranger, and orphan, and widow, and sin not, and shed no innocent blood in
this place.
22:4 For if ye will indeed perform this word, then shall there enter in by
the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, and riding
on chariots and horses, they, and their servants, and their people.
22:5 But if ye will not perform these words, by myself have I sworn, saith
Yehovah, that this house shall be [brought] to desolation.
22:6 For thus saith Yehovah concerning the house of the king of Judah; Thou
art Galaad to me, [and] the head of Libanus: [yet] surely I will make thee a
desert, [even] cities that shall not be inhabited:
22:7 and I will bring upon thee a destroying man, and his axe: and they
shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast [them] into the fire.
22:8 And nations shall pass through this city, and each shall say to his
neighbour, Why has Yehovah done thus to this great city?
22:9 And they shall say Because they forsook the covenant of Yehovah their
Elohim, and worshipped strange gods, and served them.
22:10 Weep not for the dead, nor lament for him: weep bitterly for him that
goes away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native land.
22:11 For thus saith Yehovah concerning Sellem the son of Josias, who
reigns in the place of Josias his father, who has gone forth out of this
place; He shall not return thither any more:
22:12 but in that place whither I have carried him captive, there shall he
die, and shall see this land no more.
22:13 He that builds his house not with justice, and his upper chambers not
with judgment, who works by means of his neighbour for nothing, and will by
no means give him his reward.
22:14 Thou hast built for thyself a well-proportioned house, airy chambers,
fitted with windows, and wainscoted with cedar, and painted with vermilion.
22:15 Shalt thou reign, because thou art provoked with thy father Achaz?
they shall not eat, and they shall not drink: it is better for thee to
execute judgment and justice.
22:16 They understood not, they judged not the cause of the afflicted, nor
the cause of the poor: is not this thy not knowing me? saith Yehovah.
22:17 Behold, thine eyes are not good, nor thine heart, but [they go] after
thy covetousness, and after the innocent blood to shed it, and after acts of
injustice and slaughter, to commit them.
22:18 Therefore thus saith Yehovah concerning Joakim son of Josias, king of
Judah, even concerning this man; they shall not bewail him, [saying], Ah
brother! neither shall they at all weep for him, [saying], Alas Lord.
22:19 He shall be buried with the burial of an ass; he shall be dragged
roughly along and cast outside the gate of Jerusalem.
22:20 Go up to Libanus, and cry; and utter thy voice to Basan, and cry aloud
to the extremity of the sea: for all thy lovers are destroyed.
22:21 I spoke to thee on [occasion of] thy trespass, but thou saidst, I will
not hearken. This [has been] thy way from thy youth, thou hast not hearkened
to my voice.
22:22 The wind shall tend all thy shepherds, and thy lovers shall go into
captivity; for then shalt thou be ashamed and disgraced because of all thy
lovers.
22:23 O thou that dwellest in Libanus, making thy nest in the cedars, thou
shalt groan heavily, when pangs as of a travailing woman are come upon thee.
22:24 [As] I live, saith Yehovah, though Jechonias son of Joakim king of
Judah were indeed the seal upon my right hand, thence would I pluck thee;
22:25 and I will deliver thee into the hands of them that seek thy life,
before whom thou art afraid, into the hands of the Chaldeans.
22:26 And I will cast forth thee, and thy mother that bore thee, into a land
where thou wast not born; and there ye shall die.
22:27 But they shall by no means return to the land which they long for in
their souls.
22:28 Jechonias is dishonoured as a good-for-nothing vessel; for he is
thrown out and cast forth into a land which he knew not.
22:29 Land, land, hear the word of Yehovah.
22:30 Write ye this man an outcast: for there shall none of his seed at all
grow up to sit on the throne of David, [or as] a prince yet in Judah. |
22:1 Thus saith Yehovah; Go down to the
house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
22:2 And say, Hear the word of Yehovah, O king of Judah, that sittest upon
the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by
these gates:
22:3 Thus saith Yehovah; 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.
22:4 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.
22:5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith Yehovah,
that this house shall become a desolation.
22:6 For thus saith Yehovah 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.
22:7 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.
22:8 And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man
to his neighbour, Wherefore hath Yehovah done thus unto this great city?
22:9 Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the
Yehovah their Elohim, and worshipped other gods, and served them.
22:10 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.
22:11 For thus saith Yehovah 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:
22:12 But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and
shall see this land no more.
22:13 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;
22:14 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.
22:15 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?
22:16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him:
was not this to know me? saith Yehovah.
22:17 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.
22:18 Therefore thus saith Yehovah 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!
22:19 He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth
beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
22:20 Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry
from the passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed.
22:21 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.
22:22 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.
22:23 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!
22:24 As I live, saith Yehovah, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of
Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;
22:25 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.
22:26 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.
22:27 But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they
not return.
22:28 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?
22:29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of Yehovah.
22:30 Thus saith Yehovah, 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. |