Thus said Jehovah: Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
And say, Hear the word of Jehovah, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates.
Thus saith Jehovah: Execute ye justice and righteousness, and deliver him that is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence, to the sojourner, the fatherless, nor the widow; neither shed innocent blood in this place.
For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting {Hebrew: for David upon his throne.}upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.
But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith Jehovah, that this house shall become a desolation.
For thus saith Jehovah {Or, unto}concerning the house of the king 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.
And I will {Hebrew: sanctify.}prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons; and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.
And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbor, Wherefore hath Jehovah done thus unto this great city?
Then they shall answer, Because they forsook the covenant of Jehovah their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.
Weep 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.
For thus saith Jehovah touching {In 2 Kings 23:30, Jehoahaz. Compare 1 Chronicles 3:15.}Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, and who went forth out of this place: He shall not return thither any more;
but in the place whither they have led him captive, there shall he die, and he shall see this land no more.
Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by injustice; that useth his neighbor's service without wages, and giveth him not his hire;
that saith, I will build me a wide house and spacious chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is ceiled with cedar, and painted with vermilion.
Shalt thou reign, because thou {Or, viest with the cedar}strivest to excel in cedar? Did not thy father eat and drink, and do justice and righteousness? then it was well with him.
He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Was not this to know me? saith Jehovah.
But thine eyes and thy heart are not but for thy {Or, dishonest gain}covetousness, and for shedding innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.
Therefore thus saith Jehovah 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!
He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from Abarim; for all thy lovers are destroyed.
I 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.
The wind shall {Or, feed upon}feed all thy shepherds, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.
O {Hebrew: inhabitress.}inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how greatly to be pitied shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!
As I live, saith Jehovah, though {In chapter 24:1 and 1 Chronicles 3:16, Jeconiah. In 2 Kings 24:6, 8, Jehoiachin.}Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;
and I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them of whom thou art afraid, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
And 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 the land whereunto {Hebrew: they lift up their soul.}their soul longeth to return, thither shall they not return.
Is this man Coniah a despised broken {Or, pot}vessel? is he a vessel wherein none delighteth? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into the land which they know not?
O {Or, land}earth, earth, earth, hear the word of Jehovah.
Thus saith Jehovah, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days; for no more shall a man of his seed prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling in Judah.
Querverweise zu Jeremia 22,3 Jer 22,3
They are waxed fat, they shine: yea, they overpass in deeds of wickedness; they plead not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, that they may prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.
He doth execute justice for the fatherless and widow, and loveth the sojourner, in giving him food and raiment.
But thine eyes and thy heart are not but for thy {Or, dishonest gain}covetousness, and for shedding innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.
but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he hath understanding, and knoweth me, that I am Jehovah who exerciseth lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith Jehovah.
If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and he deal with him {Or, as a chattel}as a slave, or sell him; then that thief shall die: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.
if ye oppress not the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your own hurt:
O house of David, thus saith Jehovah, Execute justice in the morning, and deliver him that is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of {Another reading is, their.}your doings.
Cursed be he that wresteth the justice due to the sojourner, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.
Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets: This man is not worthy of death; for he hath spoken to us in the name of Jehovah our God.
Thou shalt not wrest the justice due to thy poor in his cause.
Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
And thou shalt take no bribe: for a bribe blindeth them that have sight, and perverteth the {Or, cause}words of the righteous.
And a sojourner shalt thou not oppress: for ye know the heart of a sojourner, seeing ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
Thou hast sent widows away empty,And the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
that {Or, the blood of an innocent man}innocent blood be not shed in the midst of thy land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.
But if any man hate his neighbor, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally so that he dieth, and he flee into one of these cities;
then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.
Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away {Or, the blood of the innocent}the innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.
Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor.
There are that pluck the fatherless from the breast,And {Or, take in pledge that which is on the poor}take a pledge of the poor;
and also for the innocent blood that he shed; for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood: and Jehovah would not pardon.
Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, according to thy tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
Thou shalt not wrest justice: thou shalt not respect persons; neither shalt thou take a bribe; for a bribe doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the {Or, cause}words of the righteous.
{Hebrew: Justice, justice.} That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.
Because I delivered the poor that cried,The fatherless also, {Or, and him that had &c.}that had none to help him.
They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous,And condemn the innocent blood.
If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, and the judges judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked.
A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows,Is God in his holy habitation.
Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,And hands that shed innocent blood;
The God of Israel said,The Rock of Israel spake to me: {Or, There shall be one…and it shall be as &c.}One that ruleth over men {Hebrew: a righteous one.}righteously,That ruleth in the fear of God,
They slay the widow and the sojourner,And murder the fatherless.
And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
learn to do well; seek justice, {Or, set right the oppressor}relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
Come now, and let us reason together, saith Jehovah: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it.
When I went forth to the gate unto the city,When I prepared my seat in the {Or, broad place}street,
The young men saw me and hid themselves,And the aged rose up and stood;
The princes refrained from talking,And laid their hand on their mouth;
The voice of the nobels was {Hebrew: hid.}hushed,And their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.
For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me;And when the eye saw me, it gave witness unto me:
Because I delivered the poor that cried,The fatherless also, {Or, and him that had &c.}that had none to help him.
The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me;And I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
I put on righteousness, and it {Or, clothed itself with me}clothed me:My justice was as a robe and a {Or, turban.}diadem.
I was eyes to the blind,And feet was I to the lame.
I was a father to the needy:And {Or, the cause which i knew not}the cause of him that I knew not I searched out.
And I brake the {Hebrew: great teeth.}jaws of the unrighteous,And plucked the prey out of his teeth.
Remove not the ancient landmark;And enter not into the fields of the fatherless:
Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.
{Or, Let him (and so throughout the Psalm)}He will judge thy people with righteousness,And thy poor with justice.
The mountains shall bring peace to the people,And the hills, in righteousness.
He will judge the poor of the people,He will save the children of the needy,And will break in pieces the oppressor.
Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves; every one loveth bribes, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.
The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet they lean upon Jehovah, and say, Is not Jehovah in the midst of us? no evil shall come upon us.
In thee have they set light by father and mother; in the midst of thee have they dealt by oppression with the sojourner; in thee have they wronged the fatherless and the widow.
Thus hath Jehovah of hosts spoken, saying, Execute true judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother;
and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the sojourner, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.
But they refused to hearken, and {Or, turned a stubborn shoulder}pulled away the shoulder, and {Or, made their ears heavy See Isaiah 6:10.}stopped their ears, that they might not hear.
And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the sojourner from his right, and fear not me, saith Jehovah of hosts.
Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.