22:1 The Lord told me, 1 “Go down 2 to the palace of the king of Judah. Give him a message from me there. 3 22:2 Say: ‘Listen, O king of Judah who follows in David’s succession. 4 You, your officials, and your subjects who pass through the gates of this palace must listen to what the Lord says. 5 22:3 The Lord says, “Do what is just and right. Deliver those who have been robbed from those 6 who oppress them. Do not exploit or mistreat foreigners who live in your land, children who have no fathers, or widows. 7 Do not kill innocent people 8 in this land. 22:4 If you are careful to 9 obey these commands, then the kings who follow in David’s succession and ride in chariots or on horses will continue to come through the gates of this palace, as will their officials and their subjects. 10
1 tn The word “me “ is not in the text. It is, however, implicit and is supplied in the translation for clarity.
2 sn The allusion here is to going down from the temple to the palace which was on a lower eminence. See 36:12 in its context.
3 tn Heb “And speak there this word:” The translation is intended to eliminate an awkward and lengthy sentence.
4 tn Heb “who sits on David’s throne.”
5 tn Heb “Hear the word of the
6 tn Heb “from the hand [or power] of.”
7 tn Heb “aliens, orphans, or widows” treating the terms as generic or collective. However, the term “alien” carries faulty connotations and the term “orphan” is not totally appropriate because the Hebrew term does not necessarily mean that both parents have died.
8 tn Heb “Do not shed innocent blood.”
9 tn The translation here reflects the emphasizing infinitive absolute before the verb.
10 tn Heb “There will come through the gates of this city the kings…riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials…” The structure of the original text is broken up here because of the long compound subject which would make the English sentence too long. Compare 17:25 for the structure and wording of this sentence.