Jeremiah 22
22This is what the Lord said to me: “Go over and speak directly to the king of Judah. Say to him,H559H3068H3381H1004H4428H3063H1696H16972‘Listen to this message from the Lord, you king of Judah, sitting on David’s throne. Let your attendants and your people listen, too.H559H8085H1697H3068H4428H3063H3427H3678H1732H5650H5971H935H81793This is what the Lord says: Be fair-minded and just. Do what is right! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Quit your evil deeds! Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows. Stop murdering the innocent!H559H3068H6213H4941H6666H5337H1497H3027H6216H3238H2554H1616H3490H490H8210H5355H1818H47254If you obey me, there will always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne here in Jerusalem. The king will ride through the palace gates in chariots and on horses, with his parade of attendants and subjects.H6213H1697H6213H935H8179H1004H4428H3427H3678H1732H7392H7393H5483H5650H59715But if you refuse to pay attention to this warning, I swear by my own name, says the Lord, that this palace will become a pile of rubble.’”H8085H1697H7650H5002H3068H1004H27236Now this is what the Lord says concerning Judah’s royal palace: “I love you as much as fruitful Gilead and the green forests of Lebanon. But I will turn you into a desert, with no one living within your walls.H559H3068H4428H1004H3063H1568H7218H3844H7896H4057H5892H3427H34277I will call for wreckers, who will bring out their tools to dismantle you. They will tear out all your fine cedar beams and throw them on the fire.H6942H7843H376H3627H3772H4005H730H5307H7848“People from many nations will pass by the ruins of this city and say to one another, ‘Why did the Lord destroy such a great city?’H7227H1471H5674H5892H559H376H7453H3068H6213H1419H58929And the answer will be, ‘Because they violated their covenant with the Lord their God by worshiping other gods.’”H559H5800H1285H3068H430H7812H312H430H564710Do not weep for the dead king or mourn his loss. Instead, weep for the captive king being led away! For he will never return to see his native land again.H1058H4191H5110H1058H1058H1980H7725H7200H4138H77611For this is what the Lord says about Jehoahaz, who succeeded his father, King Josiah, and was taken away as a captive: “He will never return.H559H3068H413H7967H1121H2977H4428H3063H4427H2977H1H3318H4725H772512He will die in a distant land and will never again see his own country.”H4191H4725H1540H7200H77613And the Lord says, “What sorrow awaits Jehoiakim, who builds his palace with forced labor. He builds injustice into its walls, for he makes his neighbors work for nothing. He does not pay them for their labor.H1945H1129H1004H3808H6664H5944H4941H7453H5647H2600H5414H646714He says, ‘I will build a magnificent palace with huge rooms and many windows. I will panel it throughout with fragrant cedar and paint it a lovely red.’H559H1129H4060H1004H7304H5944H7167H2474H5603H730H4886H835015But a beautiful cedar palace does not make a great king! Your father, Josiah, also had plenty to eat and drink. But he was just and right in all his dealings. That is why God blessed him.H4427H8474H730H1H398H8354H6213H4941H6666H289616He gave justice and help to the poor and needy, and everything went well for him. Isn’t that what it means to know me?” says the Lord.H1777H1779H6041H34H2896H1847H5002H306817“But you! You have eyes only for greed and dishonesty! You murder the innocent, oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly.”H5869H3820H1215H8210H5355H1818H6233H4835H621318Therefore, this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim, son of King Josiah: “The people will not mourn for him, crying to one another, ‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’ His subjects will not mourn for him, crying, ‘Alas, our master is dead! Alas, his splendor is gone!’H559H3068H3079H1121H2977H4428H3063H5594H1945H251H1945H269H5594H1945H113H1945H193519He will be buried like a dead donkey—dragged out of Jerusalem and dumped outside the gates!H6912H6900H2543H5498H7993H1973H8179H338920Weep for your allies in Lebanon. Shout for them in Bashan. Search for them in the regions east of the river. See, they are all destroyed. Not one is left to help you.H5927H3844H6817H5414H6963H1316H6817H5676H157H766521I warned you when you were prosperous, but you replied, ‘Don’t bother me.’ You have been that way since childhood—you simply will not obey me!H1696H7962H559H8085H1870H5271H8085H696322And now the wind will blow away your allies. All your friends will be taken away as captives. Surely then you will see your wickedness and be ashamed.H7307H7462H7462H157H3212H7628H954H3637H745123It may be nice to live in a beautiful palace paneled with wood from the cedars of Lebanon, but soon you will groan with pangs of anguish—anguish like that of a woman in labor.H3427H3844H7077H730H2603H2256H935H2427H320524“As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “I will abandon you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah. Even if you were the signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off.H2416H5002H3068H3659H1121H3079H4428H3063H2368H3225H3027H542325I will hand you over to those who seek to kill you, those you so desperately fear—to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the mighty Babylonian army.H5414H3027H1245H5315H3027H6440H3016H3027H5019H4428H894H3027H377826I will expel you and your mother from this land, and you will die in a foreign country, not in your native land.H2904H517H3205H312H776H3205H419127You will never again return to the land you yearn for.H776H5375H5315H7725H772528“Why is this man Jehoiachin like a discarded, broken jar? Why are he and his children to be exiled to a foreign land?H376H3659H959H5310H6089H3627H2656H7993H2233H2904H776H304529O earth, earth, earth! Listen to this message from the Lord!H776H776H776H8085H1697H306830This is what the Lord says: ‘Let the record show that this man Jehoiachin was childless. He is a failure, for none of his children will succeed him on the throne of David to rule over Judah.’H559H3068H3789H376H6185H1397H6743H3117H376H2233H6743H3427H3678H1732H4910H3063
Jeremiah 23
23“What sorrow awaits the leaders of my people—the shepherds of my sheep—for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for,” says the Lord.H1945H7462H6H6327H6629H4830H5002H30682Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to these shepherds: “Instead of caring for my flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction. Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil you have done to them.H559H3068H430H3478H7462H7462H5971H6327H6629H5080H6485H6485H7455H4611H5002H30683But I will gather together the remnant of my flock from the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their own sheepfold, and they will be fruitful and increase in number.H6908H7611H6629H776H5080H7725H5116H6509H72354Then I will appoint responsible shepherds who will care for them, and they will never be afraid again. Not a single one will be lost or missing. I, the Lord have spoken!H6965H7462H7462H3372H2865H6485H5002H30685“For the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land.H3117H935H5002H3068H6965H1732H6662H6780H4428H4427H7919H6213H4941H6666H7766And this will be his name: ‘The Lord Is Our Righteousness.’ In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety.H3117H3063H3467H3478H7931H983H8034H7121H30727“In that day,” says the Lord, “when people are taking an oath, they will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who rescued the people of Israel from the land of Egypt.’H3117H935H5002H3068H559H3068H2416H5927H1121H3478H776H47148Instead, they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the people of Israel back to their own land from the land of the north and from all the countries to which he had exiled them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”H3068H2416H5927H935H2233H1004H3478H6828H776H776H5080H3427H1279My heart is broken because of the false prophets, and my bones tremble. I stagger like a drunkard, like someone overcome by wine, because of the holy words the Lord has spoken against them.H3820H7130H7665H5030H6106H7363H7910H376H1397H3196H5674H6440H3068H1697H694410For the land is full of adultery, and it lies under a curse. The land itself is in mourning—its wilderness pastures are dried up. For they all do evil and abuse what power they have.H776H4390H5003H6440H423H776H56H4999H4057H3001H4794H7451H136911“Even the priests and prophets are ungodly, wicked men. I have seen their despicable acts right here in my own Temple,” says the Lord.H5030H3548H2610H1004H4672H7451H5002H306812“Therefore, the paths they take will become slippery. They will be chased through the dark, and there they will fall. For I will bring disaster upon them at the time fixed for their punishment. I, the Lord, have spoken!H1870H2519H653H1760H5307H935H7451H8141H6486H5002H306813“I saw that the prophets of Samaria were terribly evil, for they prophesied in the name of Baal and led my people of Israel into sin.H7200H8604H5030H8111H5012H1168H5971H3478H858214But now I see that the prophets of Jerusalem are even worse! They commit adultery and love dishonesty. They encourage those who are doing evil so that no one turns away from their sins. These prophets are as wicked as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah once were.”H7200H5030H3389H8186H5003H1980H8267H2388H3027H7489H376H7725H7451H5467H3427H601715Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says concerning the prophets: “I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink. For it is because of Jerusalem’s prophets that wickedness has filled this land.”H559H3068H6635H5030H398H3939H8248H4325H7219H5030H3389H2613H3318H77616This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says to his people: “Do not listen to these prophets when they prophesy to you, filling you with futile hopes. They are making up everything they say. They do not speak for the Lord!H559H3068H6635H8085H1697H5030H5012H1891H1696H2377H3820H6310H306817They keep saying to those who despise my word, ‘Don’t worry! The Lord says you will have peace!’ And to those who stubbornly follow their own desires, they say, ‘No harm will come your way!’H559H559H5006H3068H1696H7965H559H1980H8307H3820H7451H93518“Have any of these prophets been in the Lord’s presence to hear what he is really saying? Has even one of them cared enough to listen?H5975H5475H3068H7200H8085H1697H7181H1697H808519Look! The Lord’s anger bursts out like a storm, a whirlwind that swirls down on the heads of the wicked.H5591H3068H3318H2534H2342H5591H2342H7218H756320The anger of the Lord will not diminish until it has finished all he has planned. In the days to come you will understand all this very clearly.H639H3068H7725H6213H6965H4209H3820H319H3117H995H99821“I have not sent these prophets, yet they run around claiming to speak for me. I have given them no message, yet they go on prophesying.H7971H5030H7323H1696H501222If they had stood before me and listened to me, they would have spoken my words, and they would have turned my people from their evil ways and deeds.H5975H5475H5971H8085H1697H7725H7451H1870H7455H461123Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the Lord. “No, I am far away at the same time.H430H7138H5002H3068H430H735024Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the Lord.H376H5641H4565H7200H5002H3068H4392H8064H776H5002H306825“I have heard these prophets say, ‘Listen to the dream I had from God last night.’ And then they proceed to tell lies in my name.H8085H5030H559H5012H8267H8034H559H2492H249226How long will this go on? If they are prophets, they are prophets of deceit, inventing everything they say.H3426H3820H5030H5012H8267H5030H8649H382027By telling these false dreams, they are trying to get my people to forget me, just as their ancestors did by worshiping the idols of Baal.H2803H5971H7911H8034H2472H5608H376H7453H1H7911H8034H116828“Let these false prophets tell their dreams, but let my true messengers faithfully proclaim my every word. There is a difference between straw and grain!H5030H2472H5608H2472H1697H1696H1697H571H8401H1250H5002H306829Does not my word burn like fire?” says the Lord. “Is it not like a mighty hammer that smashes a rock to pieces?H1697H3541H784H5002H3068H6360H6327H5553H632730“Therefore,” says the Lord, “I am against these prophets who steal messages from each other and claim they are from me.H5030H5002H3068H1589H1697H376H745331I am against these smooth-tongued prophets who say, ‘This prophecy is from the Lord!’H5030H5002H3068H3947H3956H5001H500232I am against these false prophets. Their imaginary dreams are flagrant lies that lead my people into sin. I did not send or appoint them, and they have no message at all for my people. I, the Lord have spoken!H5012H8267H2472H5002H3068H5608H5971H8582H8267H6350H7971H6680H3276H5971H3276H5002H306833“Suppose one of the people or one of the prophets or priests asks you, ‘What prophecy has the Lord burdened you with now?’ You must reply, ‘You are the burden! The Lord says he will abandon you!’H5971H5030H3548H7592H559H4853H3068H559H4853H5203H5002H306834“If any prophet, priest, or anyone else says, ‘I have a prophecy from the Lord,’ I will punish that person along with his entire family.H5030H3548H5971H559H4853H3068H6485H376H100435You should keep asking each other, ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’ or ‘What is the Lord saying?’H559H376H7453H376H251H3068H6030H3068H169636But stop using this phrase, ‘prophecy from the Lord.’ For people are using it to give authority to their own ideas, turning upside down the words of our God, the living God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.H4853H3068H2142H376H1697H4853H2015H1697H2416H430H3068H6635H43037“This is what you should say to the prophets: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’ or ‘What is the Lord saying?’H559H5030H3068H6030H3068H169638But suppose they respond, ‘This is a prophecy from the Lord!’ Then you should say, ‘This is what the Lord says: Because you have used this phrase, “prophecy from the Lord,” even though I warned you not to use it,H518H559H4853H3068H559H3068H559H1697H4853H3068H7971H559H559H4853H306839I will forget you completely. I will expel you from my presence, along with this city that I gave to you and your ancestors.H5377H5382H5203H5892H5414H1H644040And I will make you an object of ridicule, and your name will be infamous throughout the ages.’”H5414H5769H2781H5769H3640H7911
Jeremiah 24
24After King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon exiled Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, to Babylon along with the officials of Judah and all the craftsmen and artisans, the Lord gave me this vision. I saw two baskets of figs placed in front of the Lord’s Temple in Jerusalem.H3068H7200H8147H1736H8384H3259H6440H1964H3068H310H5019H4428H894H1540H3204H1121H3079H4428H3063H8269H3063H2796H4525H3389H935H8942One basket was filled with fresh, ripe figs, while the other was filled with bad figs that were too rotten to eat.H259H1731H3966H2896H8384H8384H1073H259H1731H3966H7451H8384H398H74553Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I replied, “Figs, some very good and some very bad, too rotten to eat.”H559H3068H7200H3414H559H8384H2896H8384H3966H2896H7451H3966H7451H398H74554Then the Lord gave me this message:H1697H3068H5595“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: The good figs represent the exiles I sent from Judah to the land of the Babylonians.H559H3068H430H3478H2896H8384H5234H1546H3063H7971H4725H776H3778H28966I will watch over and care for them, and I will bring them back here again. I will build them up and not tear them down. I will plant them and not uproot them.H7760H5869H2896H7725H776H1129H2040H5193H54287I will give them hearts that recognize me as the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.H5414H3820H3045H3068H5971H430H7725H38208“But the bad figs,” the Lord said, “represent King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, all the people left in Jerusalem, and those who live in Egypt. I will treat them like bad figs, too rotten to eat.H7451H8384H398H7455H559H3068H5414H6667H4428H3063H8269H7611H3389H7604H776H3427H776H47149I will make them an object of horror and a symbol of evil to every nation on earth. They will be disgraced and mocked, taunted and cursed, wherever I scatter them.H5414H2189H2113H4467H776H7451H2781H4912H8148H7045H4725H508010And I will send war, famine, and disease until they have vanished from the land of Israel, which I gave to them and their ancestors.”H7971H2719H7458H1698H8552H127H5414H1
Dublin, OH
, who succeeded his father, King Josiah, and was taken away as a captive: “He will never return.H559
