78 lines
4.7 KiB
Markdown
78 lines
4.7 KiB
Markdown
# Chapter 22
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1 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go over and speak directly to the king of Judah. Say to him,
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2 ‘Listen to this message from the Lord, you king of Judah, sitting on David’s throne. Let your attendants and your people listen, too.
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3 This 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!
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4 If 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.
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5 But 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.’”
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6 Now this is what the Lord says concerning Judah’s royal palace:
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“I love you as much as fruitful Gilead
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and the green forests of Lebanon.
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But I will turn you into a desert,
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with no one living within your walls.
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7 I will call for wreckers,
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who will bring out their tools to dismantle you.
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They will tear out all your fine cedar beams
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and throw them on the fire.
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8 “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?’
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9 And the answer will be, ‘Because they violated their covenant with the Lord their God by worshiping other gods.’”
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10 Do not weep for the dead king or mourn his loss.
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Instead, weep for the captive king being led away!
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For he will never return to see his native land again.
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11 For 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.
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12 He will die in a distant land and will never again see his own country.”
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13 And the Lord says, “What sorrow awaits Jehoiakim,
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who builds his palace with forced labor.
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He builds injustice into its walls,
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for he makes his neighbors work for nothing.
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He does not pay them for their labor.
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14 He says, ‘I will build a magnificent palace
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with huge rooms and many windows.
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I will panel it throughout with fragrant cedar
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and paint it a lovely red.’
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15 But a beautiful cedar palace does not make a great king!
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Your father, Josiah, also had plenty to eat and drink.
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But he was just and right in all his dealings.
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That is why God blessed him.
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16 He gave justice and help to the poor and needy,
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and everything went well for him.
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Isn’t that what it means to know me?”
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says the Lord.
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17 “But you! You have eyes only for greed and dishonesty!
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You murder the innocent,
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oppress the poor, and reign ruthlessly.”
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18 Therefore, this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim, son of King Josiah:
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“The people will not mourn for him, crying to one another,
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‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’
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His subjects will not mourn for him, crying,
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‘Alas, our master is dead! Alas, his splendor is gone!’
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19 He will be buried like a dead donkey—
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dragged out of Jerusalem and dumped outside the gates!
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20 Weep for your allies in Lebanon.
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Shout for them in Bashan.
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Search for them in the regions east of the river.
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See, they are all destroyed.
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Not one is left to help you.
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21 I warned you when you were prosperous,
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but you replied, ‘Don’t bother me.’
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You have been that way since childhood—
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you simply will not obey me!
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22 And now the wind will blow away your allies.
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All your friends will be taken away as captives.
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Surely then you will see your wickedness and be ashamed.
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23 It may be nice to live in a beautiful palace
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paneled with wood from the cedars of Lebanon,
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but soon you will groan with pangs of anguish—
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anguish like that of a woman in labor.
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24 “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.
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25 I 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.
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26 I will expel you and your mother from this land, and you will die in a foreign country, not in your native land.
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27 You will never again return to the land you yearn for.
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28 “Why is this man Jehoiachin like a discarded, broken jar?
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Why are he and his children to be exiled to a foreign land?
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29 O earth, earth, earth!
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Listen to this message from the Lord!
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30 This is what the Lord says:
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‘Let the record show that this man Jehoiachin was childless.
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He is a failure,
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for none of his children will succeed him on the throne of David
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to rule over Judah.’ |