¹This is what the Lord says: Go to the palace of the king of Judah, and speak this message there: ²“Listen to the Lord’s word, you officials, you people who come into these gates, and you, king of Judah, the one sitting on David’s throne.

³“This is what the Lord says: Judge fairly, and do what is right. Rescue those who have been robbed from those who oppress them. Don’t mistreat foreigners, orphans, or widows, and don’t oppress them. Don’t kill innocent people in this place. ⁴If you do what I say, then the kings who sit on David’s throne will ride through the gates of this palace in chariots and on horses along with their officials and their people. ⁵But if you don’t do what I say, I will take an oath on myself,” declares the Lord, “that this palace will become a pile of rubble.

⁶“This is what the Lord says about the palace of the king of Judah:

This palace is like Gilead to me,

like the top of Lebanon.

I will certainly turn it into a desert,

into cities that no one lives in.

⁷I will send people to destroy you.

They will have their own weapons.

They will cut down your finest cedar trees

and throw them on a fire.

⁸“People from many nations will pass by this city and ask each other, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this important city?’

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