1 T hus says the Lord, “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak this word

Thus said Jehovah, `Go down the house of the king of Judah, and thou hast spoken there this word, and hast said,

2 a nd say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who sits on David’s throne, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates.

Hear a word of Jehovah, O king of Judah, who art sitting on the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people, who are coming in at these gates,

3 T hus says the Lord, “ Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.

Thus said Jehovah: Do ye judgment and righteousness, And deliver the plundered from the hand of the oppressor, And sojourner, orphan, and widow, ye do not oppress nor wrong, And innocent blood ye do not shed in this place.

4 F or if you men will indeed perform this thing, then kings will enter the gates of this house, sitting in David’s place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, even the king himself and his servants and his people.

For, if ye certainly do this thing, Then come in by the gates of this house Have kings sitting for David on his throne, Riding on chariot, and on horses, He, and his servants, and his people.

5 B ut if you will not obey these words, I swear by Myself,” declares the Lord, “that this house will become a desolation.”’”

And if ye do not hear these words, By myself I have sworn -- an affirmation of Jehovah, That this house is for a desolation.

6 F or thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah: “You are like Gilead to Me, Like the summit of Lebanon; Yet most assuredly I will make you like a wilderness, Like cities which are not inhabited.

For thus said Jehovah, Concerning the house of the king of Judah: Gilead thou to Me -- head of Lebanon, If not -- I make thee a wilderness, Cities not inhabited.

7 “ For I will set apart destroyers against you, Each with his weapons; And they will cut down your choicest cedars And throw them on the fire.

And I have separated for thee destroyers, Each with his weapons, And they have cut down the choice of thy cedars, And have cast them on the fire.

8 “ Many nations will pass by this city; and they will say to one another, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this great city?’

And many nations have passed by this city, And they have said, each to his neighbour, For what hath Jehovah done thus to this great city?

9 T hen they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord their God and bowed down to other gods and served them.’”

And they have said, `Because that they have forsaken The covenant of Jehovah their God, And bow themselves to other gods, and serve them.'

10 D o not weep for the dead or mourn for him, But weep continually for the one who goes away; For he will never return Or see his native land.

Ye do not weep for the dead, nor bemoan for him, Weep ye sore for the traveller, For he doth not return again, Nor hath he seen the land of his birth.

11 F or thus says the Lord in regard to Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in the place of Josiah his father, who went forth from this place, “He will never return there;

For thus said Jehovah concerning Shallum son of Josiah king of Judah, who is reigning instead of Josiah his father, who hath gone forth from this place: He doth not turn back hither again;

12 b ut in the place where they led him captive, there he will die and not see this land again. Messages about the Kings

For in the place whither they have removed him he dieth, And this land he doth not see again.

13 “ Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness And his upper rooms without justice, Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay And does not give him his wages,

Wo to him who is building his house by unrighteousness, And his upper chambers by injustice, On his neighbour he layeth service for nought, And his wage he doth not give to him.

14 W ho says, ‘I will build myself a roomy house With spacious upper rooms, And cut out its windows, Paneling it with cedar and painting it bright red.’

Who is saying, `I build for myself a large house, And airy upper chambers,' And he hath cut out for himself its windows, Ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermillion.

15 “ Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink And do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him.

Dost thou reign, because thou art fretting thyself in cedar? Thy father -- did he not eat and drink? Yea, he did judgment and righteousness, Then well with him.

16 “ He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; Then it was well. Is not that what it means to know Me?” Declares the Lord.

He decided the cause of the poor and needy, Then well -- is it not to know Me? An affirmation of Jehovah.

17 “ But your eyes and your heart Are intent only upon your own dishonest gain, And on shedding innocent blood And on practicing oppression and extortion.”

But thine eyes and thy heart are not, Except on thy dishonest gain, And on shedding of innocent blood, And on oppression, and on doing of violence.

18 T herefore thus says the Lord in regard to Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, “They will not lament for him: ‘ Alas, my brother!’ or, ‘Alas, sister!’ They will not lament for him: ‘Alas for the master!’ or, ‘Alas for his splendor!’

Therefore, thus said Jehovah concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: They do not lament for him, Ah, my brother, and Ah, sister, They do not lament for him, Ah, lord, and Ah, his honour.

19 “ He will be buried with a donkey’s burial, Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

The burial of an ass -- he is buried, Dragged and cast out thence to the gates of Jerusalem.

20 “ Go up to Lebanon and cry out, And lift up your voice in Bashan; Cry out also from Abarim, For all your lovers have been crushed.

Go up to Lebanon, and cry, And in Bashan give forth thy voice, And cry from Abarim, For destroyed have been all loving thee.

21 “ I spoke to you in your prosperity; But you said, ‘I will not listen!’ This has been your practice from your youth, That you have not obeyed My voice.

I have spoken unto thee in thine ease, Thou hast said, `I do not hearken,' This thy way from thy youth, For thou hast not hearkened to My voice.

22 “ The wind will sweep away all your shepherds, And your lovers will go into captivity; Then you will surely be ashamed and humiliated Because of all your wickedness.

All thy friends consume doth wind, And thy lovers into captivity do go, Surely then thou art ashamed, And hast blushed for all thy wickedness.

23 “ You who dwell in Lebanon, Nested in the cedars, How you will groan when pangs come upon you, Pain like a woman in childbirth!

O dweller in Lebanon, making a nest among cedars, How gracious hast thou been when pangs come to thee, Pain -- as of a travailing woman.

24 “ As I live,” declares the Lord, “even though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a signet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull you off;

I live -- an affirmation of Jehovah, Though Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah Were a seal on My right hand, Surely thence I draw thee away,

25 a nd I will give you over into the hand of those who are seeking your life, yes, into the hand of those whom you dread, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans.

And I have given thee into the hand of those seeking thy life, And into hands of which thou art afraid, Into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, And into the hand of the Chaldeans.

26 I will hurl you and your mother who bore you into another country where you were not born, and there you will die.

And I have cast thee, And thy mother who bore thee, unto another country, Where ye were not born, and there do ye die.

27 B ut as for the land to which they desire to return, they will not return to it.

And to the land whither they are lifting up their soul to return, Thither they do not return.

28 “ Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered jar? Or is he an undesirable vessel? Why have he and his descendants been hurled out And cast into a land that they had not known?

A grief -- a despised broken thing -- is this man Coniah? A vessel in which there is no pleasure? Wherefore have they been cast up and down, He and his seed, Yea, they were cast on to a land that they knew not?

29 “ O land, land, land, Hear the word of the Lord!

Earth, earth, earth, hear a word of Jehovah,

30 “ Thus says the Lord, ‘Write this man down childless, A man who will not prosper in his days; For no man of his descendants will prosper Sitting on the throne of David Or ruling again in Judah.’”

Thus said Jehovah: Write ye this man childless, A man -- he doth not prosper in his days, For none of his seed doth prosper, Sitting on the throne of David, And ruling again in Judah!