This is what the LORD says : “ Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there - ,
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.
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.
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.
But if you do not obey - these words , then I swear declares the LORD , that this house will become a pile of rubble. ’”
For this is what the LORD says concerning the house of the king of Judah : “ You are like Gilead like the summit of Lebanon ; but I will surely ... turn you into a desert , like cities that are uninhabited ....
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.
And many nations will pass by this city and ask one ... another , ‘ Why ... has the LORD done such a thing to this great city ?’
Then (people) will reply , ‘ Because - they have forsaken - the covenant of the LORD their God and have worshiped and served other gods. ’”
Do not weep for the dead (king) ; do not mourn his loss Weep bitterly for the one who is exiled , for he will never return - to see - his native land.
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 ... ... ,
but he will die - in the place to which he was exiled ; - - he will never see this land again. ”
“ 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 wages ,
who says , ‘ I will build a great palace , with spacious upper rooms. ’ So he cuts windows panels it with cedar , and paints it with vermilion.
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
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.
“ But your eyes and heart (are set on) nothing except ... ... your own dishonest gain , - on shedding ... innocent blood , on practicing extortion and oppression. ”
Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah : “ They will not mourn ‘ Alas , my brother ! Alas , my sister ! ’ They will not mourn ‘ Alas , my master ! Alas , his splendor ! ’
vvv He will be buried like a donkey , dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.
Go up to Lebanon and cry out ; raise your voice in Bashan ; cry out from Abarim , for all your lovers have been crushed.
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.
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.
O inhabitant of Lebanon , nestled in the cedars , how you will groan when pangs of anguish come agony like a woman in labor. ”
“ 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.
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.
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.
(You) will never return to the land - for which (you) long - - ... ... ....”
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 ?
O land , land , land , hear the word of the LORD !
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. ”