Study Desk

The Lord sent me to the palace of the king of Judah to speak to the king, his officials, and everyone else who was there. The Lord told me to say: I am the Lord , so pay attention! You have been allowing people to cheat, rob, and take advantage of widows, orphans, and foreigners who live here. Innocent people have become victims of violence, and some of them have even been killed. But now I command you to do what is right and see that justice is done. Rescue everyone who has suffered from injustice.

The Lord said: King Josiah is dead, so don't cry for him. Instead, cry for his son King Jehoahaz, dragged off to another country, never to return.

That's what it means to truly know me. So he lived a comfortable life and always had enough to eat and drink.

Jehoiachin, you are unwanted like a broken clay pot. So you and your children will be thrown into a country you know nothing about.

Erase the names of Jehoiachin's children from the royal records. He is a complete failure, and so none of them will ever be king. I, the Lord , have spoken.

You were supposed to take care of my people, but instead you chased them away. So now I'll really take care of you, and believe me, you will pay for your crimes!

Those unfaithful prophets misuse their power all over the country. So God turned the pasturelands into scorching deserts.

The Lord told me to say: You prophets and priests think so little of me, the Lord , that you even sin in my own temple!

They are evil! So in my anger I will strike them like a violent storm.

These unfaithful prophets claim I give them their dreams, but it isn't true. I didn't choose them to be my prophets, and yet they babble on and on, speaking in my name, while stealing words from each other. And when my people hear these liars, they are led astray instead of being helped. So I warn you that I am now the enemy of these prophets. I, the Lord , have spoken.

It seems that you each have your own news! So if you say, "Here is news from the Lord ," you are twisting my words into a lie. Remember that I am your God, the Lord All-Powerful.

In the fourth year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah, which was the first year that Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylonia, the Lord told me to speak to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. So I told them:

I don't want to harm you. So don't make me angry by worshiping idols and other gods.

But you refused to listen to my prophets. So I, the Lord , say that you have made me angry by worshiping idols, and you are the ones who were hurt by what you did.

The Lord had said to tell each king, "The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, commands you to drink from this cup that is full of the wine of his anger. It will make you so drunk that you will vomit. And when the Lord sends war against the nations, you will be completely defeated."

Starting with my own city of Jerusalem, everyone on earth will suffer from war. So there is no way I will let you escape unharmed."

When it strikes, I will kill so many people that their bodies will cover the ground like manure. No one will be left to bury them or to mourn.

The Lord 's people are his flock, and you leaders were the shepherds. But now it's your turn to be butchered like sheep. You'll shatter like fine pottery dropped on the floor. So roll on the ground, crying and mourning.

After these leaders finished speaking, an important man named Ahikam son of Shaphan spoke up for me as well. And so, I wasn't handed over to the crowd to be killed. While Jehoiakim was still king of Judah, a man named Uriah son of Shemaiah left his hometown of Kiriath-Jearim and came to Jerusalem. Uriah was one of the Lord 's prophets, and he was saying the same things about Judah and Jerusalem that I had been saying. And when Jehoiakim and his officials and military officers heard what Uriah said, they tried to arrest him, but he escaped to Egypt. So Jehoiakim sent Elnathan son of Achbor and some other men after Uriah, and they brought him back. Then Jehoiakim had Uriah killed and his body dumped in a common burial pit.

So have them tell their kings that I have said: I am the All-Powerful Lord God of Israel,