¶ Thus saith the LORD; Go¹ down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,

And say, Hear² the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest³ upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter⁴ in by these gates:

Thus saith the LORD; Execute⁵ ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong⁶, do no violence⁷ to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither⁸ shed innocent blood in this place.

For if ye do this thing indeed, then⁹ shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David¹⁰, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.

But if¹¹ ye will not hear these words, I¹² swear by myself, saith the LORD, that¹³ this house shall become a desolation.

For thus saith the LORD unto¹⁴ the king's house of Judah; Thou¹⁵ art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely¹⁶ I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.

And I¹⁷ will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut¹⁸ down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.

¹⁹And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this great city?

²⁰Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.

¶ Weep ye²¹ not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore²² for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.

For thus saith the LORD touching Shallum²³ the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more:

²⁵But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.

Woe unto²⁶ him that buildeth²⁷ his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;

That saith, I will²⁸ build me a wide house and large²⁹ chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion.

Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy³⁰ father eat³¹ and drink, and do³² judgment and justice, and then³³ it was well with him?

He judged³⁴ the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not³⁵ this to know me? saith the LORD.

But thine eyes³⁶ and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness³⁷, and for to shed³⁸ innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence³⁹, to do it.

Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They⁴⁰ shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother⁴¹! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!

⁴²He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

¶ Go up to Lebanon, and cry⁴³; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for⁴⁴ all thy lovers are destroyed.

I spake⁴⁵ unto thee in thy prosperity⁴⁶; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice.

The wind⁴⁷ shall eat up all thy pastors⁴⁸, and thy lovers⁴⁹ shall go into captivity: surely⁵⁰ then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.

O inhabitant⁵¹ of Lebanon, that makest⁵² thy nest in the cedars, how⁵³ gracious shalt thou be when⁵⁴ pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!

As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah⁵⁵ the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet⁵⁸ upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;

And I⁵⁹ will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose⁶⁰ face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.

⁶¹And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die.

But to the⁶² land whereunto they desire⁶³ to return, thither shall they not return.

Is⁶⁴ this man Coniah⁶⁵ a despised⁶⁶ broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed⁶⁷, and are cast into a land which⁶⁸ they know not?

⁶⁹O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

¶ Thus saith the LORD, Write⁷⁰ ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting⁷¹ upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.