| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, | 1This is what the LORD says: "Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there: |
| 2And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates: | 2Hear the word of the LORD to you, king of Judah, you who sit on David's throne--you, your officials and your people who come through these gates. |
| 3Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place. | 3This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. |
| 4For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people. | 4For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David's throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. |
| 5But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation. | 5But if you do not obey these commands, declares the LORD, I swear by myself that this palace will become a ruin.'" |
| 6For thus saith the LORD unto the king's house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited. | 6For this is what the LORD says about the palace of the king of Judah: "Though you are like Gilead to me, like the summit of Lebanon, I will surely make you like a wasteland, like towns not inhabited. |
| 7And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. | 7I will send destroyers against you, each man with his weapons, and they will cut up your fine cedar beams and throw them into the fire. |
| 8And 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? | 8"People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, 'Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?' |
| 9Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them. | 9And the answer will be: 'Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and have worshiped and served other gods.'" |
| 10Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country. | 10Do not weep for the dead king or mourn his loss; rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled, because he will never return nor see his native land again. |
| 11For thus saith the LORD touching Shallum 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: | 11For this is what the LORD says about Shallum son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but has gone from this place: "He will never return. |
| 12But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more. | 12He will die in the place where they have led him captive; he will not see this land again." |
| 13Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work; | 13"Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labor. |
| 14That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion. | 14He says, 'I will build myself a great palace with spacious upper rooms.' So he makes large windows in it, panels it with cedar and decorates it in red. |
| 15Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him? | 15"Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. |
| 16He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD. | 16He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" declares the LORD. |
| 17But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it. | 17"But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion." |
| 18Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory! | 18Therefore this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: "They will not mourn for him: 'Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!' They will not mourn for him: 'Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!' |
| 19He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem. | 19He will have the burial of a donkey-- dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem." |
| 20Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed. | 20"Go up to Lebanon and cry out, let your voice be heard in Bashan, cry out from Abarim, for all your allies are crushed. |
| 21I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice. | 21I warned you when you felt secure, but you said, 'I will not listen!' This has been your way from your youth; you have not obeyed me. |
| 22The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness. | 22The wind will drive all your shepherds away, and your allies will go into exile. Then you will be ashamed and disgraced because of all your wickedness. |
| 23O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail! | 23You who live in 'Lebanon,' who are nestled in cedar buildings, how you will groan when pangs come upon you, pain like that of a woman in labor! |
| 24As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence; | 24"As surely as I live," declares the LORD, "even if you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off. |
| 25And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. | 25I will deliver you into the hands of those who want to kill you, those you fear--Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Babylonians. |
| 26And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die. | 26I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. |
| 27But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return. | 27You will never come back to the land you long to return to." |
| 28Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not? | 28Is this man Jehoiachin a despised, broken pot, an object no one wants? Why will he and his children be hurled out, cast into a land they do not know? |
| 29O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD. | 29O land, land, land, hear the word of the LORD! |
| 30Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah. | 30This is what the LORD says: "Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah." |
|
