A Warning to Judah’s Kings 1 WBS Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, BSB BSB: This is what the LORD says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there,
2 WBS And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter by these gates: BSB BSB: saying, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David—you and your officials and your people who enter these gates.
3 WBS Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver him that is laid waste 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. BSB BSB: This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place.
4 WBS For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter, 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. BSB BSB: For if you will indeed carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will enter through the gates of this palace riding on chariots and horses—they and their officials and their people.
5 WBS But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation. BSB BSB: But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by Myself, declares the LORD, that this house will become a pile of rubble.’”
A Warning about the Palace 6 WBS For thus saith the LORD to the king's house of Judah; Thou art Gilead to me, and the head of Lebanon; yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited. BSB BSB: For this is what the LORD says concerning the house of the king of Judah: “You are like Gilead to Me, like the summit of Lebanon; but I will surely turn you into a desert, like cities that are uninhabited.
7 WBS 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. BSB BSB: I will appoint destroyers against you, each man with his weapons, and they will cut down the choicest of your cedars and throw them into the fire.
8 WBS And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbor, Why hath the LORD done thus to this great city? BSB BSB: And many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’
9 WBS Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshiped other gods, and served them. BSB BSB: Then people will reply, ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’”
A Warning about Shallum 10 WBS Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep bitterly for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country. BSB BSB: Do not weep for him who is dead; do not mourn his loss. Weep bitterly for him who is exiled, for he will never return to see his native land.
11 WBS For thus saith the LORD concerning Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, who went forth from this place; He shall not return thither any more: BSB BSB: For this is what the LORD says concerning Shallum son of Josiah, king of Judah, who succeeded his father Josiah but has gone forth from this place: “He will never return,
12 WBS But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more. BSB BSB: but he will die in the place to which he was exiled; he will never see this land again.”
A Warning about Jehoiakim 13 WBS Woe to him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbor's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work; BSB BSB: “Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms without justice, who makes his countrymen serve without pay, and fails to pay their wages,
14 WBS That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermilion. BSB BSB: who says, ‘I will build myself a great palace, with spacious upper rooms.’ So he cuts windows in it, panels it with cedar, and paints it with vermilion.
15 WBS 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? BSB BSB: Does it make you a king to excel in cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He administered justice and righteousness, and so it went well with him.
16 WBS He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him : was not this to know me? saith the LORD. BSB BSB: He took up the cause of the poor and needy, and so it went well with him. Is this not what it means to know Me?” declares the LORD.
17 WBS But thy eyes and thy heart are only for thy covetousness, and for shedding innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it . BSB BSB: “But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression.”
18 WBS Therefore thus saith the LORD 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! BSB BSB: Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: “They will not mourn for him: ‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’ They will not mourn for him: ‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’
19 WBS He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem. BSB BSB: He will be buried like a donkey, dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.
20 WBS Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed. BSB BSB: Go up to Lebanon and cry out; raise your voice in Bashan; cry out from Abarim, for all your lovers have been crushed.
21 WBS I spoke to thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidest, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou hast not obeyed my voice. BSB BSB: I warned you when you were secure. You said, ‘I will not listen.’ This has been your way from youth, that you have not obeyed My voice.
22 WBS 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. BSB BSB: The wind will drive away all your shepherds, and your lovers will go into captivity. Then you will be ashamed and humiliated because of all your wickedness.
23 WBS 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! BSB BSB: O inhabitant of Lebanon, nestled in the cedars, how you will groan when pangs of anguish come upon you, agony like a woman in labor.”
A Warning to Coniah 24 WBS As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;BSB BSB: “As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “even if you, Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on My right hand, I would pull you off.
25 WBS 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 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. BSB BSB: In fact, I will hand you over to those you dread, who want to take your life—to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Chaldeans.
26 WBS And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bore thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die. BSB BSB: I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another land, where neither of you were born—and there you both will die.
27 WBS But to the land to which they desire to return, thither shall they not return. BSB BSB: You will never return to the land for which you long.”
28 WBS Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel in which is no pleasure? why are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?BSB BSB: Is this man Coniah a despised and shattered pot, a jar that no one wants? Why are he and his descendants hurled out and cast into a land they do not know?
29 WBS O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD. BSB BSB: O land, land, land, hear the word of the LORD!
30 WBS Thus saith the LORD, 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. BSB BSB: This is what the LORD says: “Enroll this man as childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime. None of his descendants will prosper to sit on the throne of David or to rule again in Judah.”