17 “Jehoiakim, your eyes look only for what benefits yourself. You are always thinking about getting more for yourself. You are willing to kill innocent people. You are willing to steal things from other people.”
18 So this is what the Lord says to King Jehoiakim son of Josiah: “The people of Judah will not cry for Jehoiakim. They will not say to each other, ‘Brother, I am so sad! Sister, I am so sad!’ They will not cry for Jehoiakim. They will not say about him, ‘Master, I am so sad! King, I am so sad!’
19 The people of Jerusalem will bury Jehoiakim like a donkey. They will drag his body away and throw it outside the gates of Jerusalem.
20 “Judah, go up to the mountains of Lebanon and cry out. Let your voice be heard in the mountains of Bashan. Cry out in the mountains of Abarim, because all your ‘lovers’ will be destroyed.
21 “Judah, you felt safe, but I warned you. I warned you, but you refused to listen. You have lived like this from the time you were young. And from the time you were young, you have not obeyed me, Judah.
22 Judah, the punishment I give will come like a storm, and it will blow all your shepherds away. You thought some of the other nations would help you. But these nations will also be defeated. Then you will really be disappointed. You will be ashamed of all the evil things you did.
23 “King, you seem so safe in your palace of cedar. It’s as if you live in Lebanon! But when your punishment comes, you will groan. You will be in pain like a woman giving birth!”