Jeremiah 22

All 30 verses in the Clear Bible Translation. Tap a verse to compare the KJV and read what it means.

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1. 1Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the palace of the king of Judah, and speak this word there,
2. 2And say, 'Listen to the word of the LORD, king of Judah—you who sit on David's throne, along with your officials and all the people who come through these gates.'
3. 3The LORD says: Carry out judgment and righteousness. Rescue those who have been plundered from the hand of their oppressors. Do not mistreat or harm the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.
4. 4For if you truly do this thing, then kings sitting on the throne of David will enter through the gates of this house, riding in chariots and on horses, he and his servants and his people.
5. 5But if you will not listen to these words, I swear by myself," declares the LORD, "that this house shall become a desolation.
6. 6The LORD says this to the royal house of Judah: 'You are like Gilead to me, and like the summit of Lebanon, but I will make you a wilderness, with cities that are not inhabited.'
7. 7I will send destroyers against you, each armed with weapons. They will chop down your finest cedars and throw them into the fire.
8. 8People from many nations will pass by this city and ask each other, 'Why did the LORD do this to such a great city?'
9. 9And the answer will be: 'Because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD their God, worshiped other gods, and served them.'"
10. 10Don't weep for the dead or mourn him. Instead, weep bitterly for the one who is going away, because he will never return or see his homeland again.
11. 11The LORD says this about Shallum son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king after his father Josiah and was taken away from this place: "He will never return here.
12. 12He will die in the land where they took him as a captive. He will never see this land again."
13. 13Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness and his rooms by wrongdoing, who uses his neighbor's service without paying wages and does not give him anything for his work;
14. 14He says, 'I'll build myself a grand palace with spacious upper rooms,' then cuts out large windows, panels it with cedar, and paints it bright red.
15. 15Will you reign because you enclose yourself in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and it was well with him?
16. 16He defended the cause of the poor and the needy, and because of that, things went well. Isn't that what it means to truly know me?" declares the LORD.
17. 17"But your eyes and your heart care about nothing except your own greed, shedding innocent blood, and crushing people through oppression and violence."
18. 18So the LORD says this about Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah: "No one will mourn for him, crying, 'Oh, my brother!' or 'Oh, my sister!' No one will grieve for him, saying, 'Oh, my lord!' or 'Oh, his glory!'
19. 19He will be buried like a dead donkey — dragged away and dumped outside the gates of Jerusalem."
20. 20Go up to Lebanon and cry out; lift your voice in Bashan and cry from the passages, for all your lovers are destroyed.
21. 21I spoke to you during your prosperity, but you said, 'I will not listen.' This has been your way since your youth—you have not obeyed my voice.
22. 22The wind will consume all your shepherds, and your lovers will go into captivity. Then you will surely be ashamed and humiliated because of all your wickedness.
23. 23You who live in Lebanon, who make your nest in the cedars, how gracious will you be when pains come upon you, the pain like that of a woman in labor!
24. 24"As surely as I live," declares the LORD, "even if Coniah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still rip you off.
25. 25I will hand you over to those who seek your life, to those you fear, to Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and to the Chaldeans.
26. 26I will throw you and the mother who gave birth to you into a foreign country where neither of you was born, and that is where you will die.
27. 27But to the land they desire to return, they shall not return.
28. 28Is this man Coniah nothing but a shattered, worthless pot? A jar that nobody wants? Why have he and his children been thrown out and flung into a land they've never known?
29. 29O earth, earth, earth — hear the word of the LORD!
30. 30The LORD says, "Record this man as childless — a man who will never succeed in his lifetime. None of his descendants will ever prosper, sit on David's throne, or rule over Judah again."