¹ Thus says Jehovah: Go·​·down·​·to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,

² and say, Hear the word of Jehovah, O king of Judah, who sittest upon the throne of David, thou^◦, and thy servants, and thy people who come·​·in by these gates:

³ thus says Jehovah, Do ye judgment and justice, and rescue from the hand of the oppressor what is taken·​·by·​·robbery; and exploit not the sojourner, the orphan and the widow; do· no^◦ ·violence, and shed not innocent blood in this place.

⁴ For if doing you do this thing, then shall there come·​·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.

⁵ But if you will not hear these words, I promise in Myself, says^◦ Jehovah, that this house shall become a waste.

⁶ For thus says Jehovah against the house of the king of Judah; Thou^◦ art as Gilead to Me, as the head of Lebanon; yet surely I will set^◦ thee for a wilderness, for cities not dwelt·​·in.

⁷ And I will sanctify destroyers against thee, a man^◦ and his weapons^◦; and they shall cut·​·off thy choice cedars, and cause them to fall on the fire.

⁸ And many nations shall pass by^◦ this city, and they shall say, a man^◦ to^▵ his companion, Wherefore has Jehovah done as·​·thus unto this great city?

⁹ Then they shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of Jehovah their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.

¹⁰ Weep ye not for the dead, and be· not ·sorry for him; but weeping you shall Weep for him who goes^◦ into captivity; for he shall return no^◦ more^◦ and see the land of his birth.

¹¹ For thus says Jehovah concerning^▵ Shallum the son of Josiah^◦ king of Judah, who reigned instead·​·of Josiah^◦ his father, who went·​·out from this place; He shall not return thither any·​·more:

¹² but^◦ he shall·​·die in the place whither they have led him into exile, and shall see this land no^◦ more^◦.

¹³ Woe to him who builds his house with no^◦ justice, and his upper·​·rooms with no^◦ judgment, with his companion serving for·​·nothing, and for his work he gives him not;

¹⁴ who says, I will build for myself a measurable house and spacious upper·​·rooms; and he cuts out windows for himself; and it is paneled with cedar, and anointed^* with vermilion.

¹⁵ Shalt thou reign, because^◦ thou^◦ competest with the cedar? Did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then^▵ it was well for him?

¹⁶ He made·​·the·​·cause for the cause of the afflicted and needy; then it was good. Was this^◦ not knowing Me? says^◦ Jehovah.

¹⁷ For thine eyes and thy heart are nothing^◦ but^◦ for^▵ thy gain, and for^▵ shedding innocent blood, and for^▵ oppression, and for^▵ clashing, to do it.

¹⁸ Therefore thus says Jehovah concerning^▵ Jehoiakim the son of Josiah^◦ king of Judah; They shall not wail for him, saying, Woe my brother! and, Woe sisters! They shall not wail for him, saying, Woe lord! and, Woe his majesty!

¹⁹ He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey, dragged and cast beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

²⁰ Go·​·up·​·to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the crossings; for all thy lovers are broken.

²¹ I spoke to^▵ thee in thy tranquility; but thou didst say, I will not hear. This has been thy way from thy youth, that thou didst not obey My voice.

²² The wind shall shepherd all thy shepherds, and thy lovers shall go into the captivity; for then shalt thou be·​·ashamed and humiliated on account of all thine evil.

²³ O she who dwells in Lebanon, making· thy ·nest in the cedars, how gracious· shalt thou ·be when pangs come to thee, the travailing as of a woman giving·​·birth!

²⁴ As I^◦ live, says^◦ Jehovah, though^◦ Coniah^◦ the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet on My right hand, surely^▵ I would pull· thee ·out from there;

²⁵ and I will give thee into the hand of those who seek thy soul, and into the hand of them of whose faces thou^◦ art afraid, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.

²⁶ And I will throw thee out, and thy mother who gave·​·birth to thee, into another land, where you were not born; and there shall you die.

²⁷ But on the land where^▵ they^◦ bear their soul to return, thither they shall not return.

²⁸ Is this man^◦ Coniah^◦ a despised, shattered idol^◦? Is he a vessel in which is no delight? Wherefore are they thrown, he^◦ and his seed, and are cast upon a land which they know not?

²⁹ O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of Jehovah.

³⁰ Thus says Jehovah, Write ye that this man^◦ is 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.

¹ And the word of Jehovah was unto^▵ me, saying,

² Son of man, riddle a riddle, and enunciate an enunciation to^▵ the house of Israel;

³ and say, Thus says the Lord Jehovih^*; The great eagle with great wings, long pinions^*, full of feathers, which were as embroidery for it, came to^▵ Lebanon, and took the top·​·branch of the cedar;

⁴ he cropped·​·off the head of its tender·​·branches, and brought it to^▵ a land of commerce^*; he set it in a city of merchants.

⁵ And he took of the seed of the land, and put^◦ it in a field of seed; he took it by^◦ many waters, and set it carefully^◦.

⁶ And it grew, and became a draping vine of low stature, its offshoots faced toward^▵ him, and its roots of it were under him; and it became a vine, and made poles, and sent out branches.

⁷ And there was one other great eagle with great wings and many feathers; and, behold, this vine did ply her roots toward him, and put·​·forth^◦ her offshoots toward^◦ him, to water^◦ her in the soils of her planting.

⁸ She^◦ was planted^◦ in^▵ a good field by many waters, to make boughs, and to bear fruit, to be a magnificent vine.

⁹ Say thou, Thus says the Lord Jehovih: Shall it prosper? Shall he not pull·​·up her roots, and cut·​·off her fruit, that it dry·​·up? It shall·​·dry·​·up all the leaves torn from her growth, and not with a great arm and with many people to lift it up from her roots.

¹⁰ And, behold, being planted^◦, shall it prosper? drying·​·up shall· it not ·dry·​·up when^◦ the wind of the east touches it? upon the soils of its growth it shall dry·​·up.

¹¹ And the word of Jehovah was unto^▵ me, saying,

¹² Say now^◦ to the rebellious house, Know you not what these things mean? Say, Behold, the king of Babylon has come·​·into Jerusalem, and has taken the king, and the princes, and brought them with him to^▫ Babylon.

¹³ And he has taken of the seed of the kingdom, and cut a covenant with him, and has brought him into an oath; and he has taken the powerful ones of the land,

¹⁴ that^▫ the kingdom may be lowly, that^▫ she may not^▵ lift· herself ·up, that^▫ she may keep his covenant, that^▫ she may stand.

¹⁵ But he revolted against^◦ him in sending his messengers into Egypt, so·​·that^▵ they might give to him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall· he ·escape that does these things? or^◦ shall he make· the covenant ·of·​·none·​·effect, and escape?

¹⁶ As I^◦ am alive, says^◦ the Lord Jehovih, surely in the place of the king who made· him ·king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he made·​·of·​·none·​·effect, even with^◦ him in the midst of Babylon he shall·​·die.

¹⁷ And Pharaoh, by his great host and by an assembly of many shall not make war for him, by pouring·​·out an embankment, and by building a ramp, to cut·​·off many souls;

¹⁸ and he despised the oath by making· the covenant ·of·​·none·​·effect, and, behold, he had given his hand, and has done all these things, he shall not escape.

¹⁹ Therefore thus says the Lord Jehovih; As I^◦ am alive, Is it not My oath that he has despised, and My covenant that he has brought·​·to·​·nothing? And I will put^◦ it on^◦ his own head.

²⁰ And I will spread My net upon him, and he shall be caught in My hunting net, and I will bring him into Babylon, and will judge with^◦ him there his trespass, which is a trespass against^◦ Me.

²¹ And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that are left shall be spreading toward^◦ all winds; and you shall know that I^◦, Jehovah, have spoken it.

²² Thus says the Lord Jehovih; I^◦ will also^◦ take of the top·​·branch of the exalted cedar, and will give it; I will crop·​·off from the head of its tender·​·branches a soft one, and I^◦ will plant it on a tall mountain and mound:

²³ in the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it; and it shall bear boughs, and make fruit, and be a magnificent cedar: and under it shall reside every bird of every wing; in the shadow of the offshoots shall they reside.

²⁴ And all the trees of the field shall know that I^◦, Jehovah, have made· the tall tree ·low, have made· the low tree ·tall; I have dried·​·up the fresh tree, and have made the dry tree flourish; I^◦, Jehovah, have spoken and have done it.