5 But if you do not obey these commands, declares the Lord, I swear by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’ ”

6 For this is what the Lord says about the palace of the king of Judah:

“Though you are like Gilead to me,

like the summit of Lebanon,

I will surely make you like a wasteland,

like towns not inhabited.

7 I will send destroyers against you,

each man with his weapons,

and they will cut up your fine cedar beams

and throw them into the fire.

8 “People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’ 9 And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’ ”

5 But if you will not obey these words, I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation. 6 For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah:

“ ‘You are like Gilead to me,

like the summit of Lebanon,

yet surely I will make you a desert,

an uninhabited city.

7 I will prepare destroyers against you,

each with his weapons,

and they shall cut down your choicest cedars

and cast them into the fire.

8 “ ‘And many nations will pass by this city, and every man will say to his neighbor, “Why has the Lord dealt thus with this great city?” 9 And they will answer, “Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and worshiped other gods and served them.” ’ ”

5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation. 6 For thus saith the Lord unto the king’s house 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. 7 And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. 8 And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this great city? 9 Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.

5 But if you refuse to pay attention to this warning, I swear by my own name, says the Lord, that this palace will become a pile of rubble.’ ”

6 Now this is what the Lord says concerning Judah’s royal palace:

“I love you as much as fruitful Gilead

and the green forests of Lebanon.

But I will turn you into a desert,

with no one living within your walls.

7 I will call for wreckers,

who will bring out their tools to dismantle you.

They will tear out all your fine cedar beams

and throw them on the fire.

8 “People from many nations will pass by the ruins of this city and say to one another, ‘Why did the Lord destroy such a great city?’ 9 And the answer will be, ‘Because they violated their covenant with the Lord their God by worshiping other gods.’ ”

5 But if you will not hear these words, I swear by Myself,” says the Lord, “that this house shall become a desolation.” ’ ”

6 For thus says the Lord to the house of the king of Judah:

“You are Gilead to Me,

The head of Lebanon;

Yet I surely will make you a wilderness,

Cities which are not inhabited.

7 I will prepare destroyers against you,

Everyone with his weapons;

They shall cut down your choice cedars

And cast them into the fire.

8 And many nations will pass by this city; and everyone will say to his neighbor, ‘Why has the Lord done so to this great city?’ 9 Then they will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshiped other gods and served them.’ ”

5 But if you don’t obey these commands, says the Lord, I swear by my own name that this king’s palace will become a ruin.’ ”

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

“You are tall like the forests of Gilead,

like the mountaintops of Lebanon.

But I will truly make you into a desert,

into towns where no one lives.

7 I will send men to destroy the palace,

each with his weapons.

They will cut up your strong, beautiful cedar beams

and throw them into the fire.

8 “People from many nations will pass by this city and ask each other, ‘Why has the Lord done such a terrible thing to Jerusalem, this great city?’ 9 And the answer will be: ‘Because the people of Judah quit following the agreement with the Lord their God. They worshiped and served other gods.’ ”

5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith Jehovah, that this house shall become a desolation. 6 For thus saith Jehovah 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. 7 And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons; and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. 8 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? 9 Then they shall answer, Because they forsook the covenant of Jehovah their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.

5 But if ye will not hear these words, I have sworn by myself, saith Jehovah, that this house shall become a waste. 6 For thus saith Jehovah concerning the house of the king of Judah: Thou art a Gilead unto me, the summit of Lebanon: verily I will make thee a wilderness, cities not inhabited. 7 And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons; and they shall cut down the choice of thy cedars, and cast them into the fire. 8 And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath Jehovah done thus unto this great city? 9 And they shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of Jehovah their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.

5 But 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. 

7 I 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?’ 9 The answer will be: ‘They rejected the promiseof the Lord their God. They worshiped other gods and served them.’ ” 

5 But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by Myself ”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“that this house will become a ruin.”

6 For this is what the Lord says concerning the house of the king of Judah:

You are like Gilead to Me,

or the summit of Lebanon,

but I will certainly turn you into a wilderness,

uninhabited cities.

7 I will appoint destroyers against you,

each with his weapons.

They will cut down the choicest of your cedars

and throw them into the fire.

8 “Many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why did the Lord do such a thing to this great city?’ 9 They will answer, ‘Because they abandoned the covenant of Yahweh their God and worshiped and served other gods.’ ”

5 But if you will not heed these words, I swear by myself, says the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation. 6 For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah:

You are like Gilead to me,

like the summit of Lebanon;

but I swear that I will make you a desert,

an uninhabited city.

7 I will prepare destroyers against you,

all with their weapons;

they shall cut down your choicest cedars

and cast them into the fire.

8 And many nations will pass by this city, and all of them will say one to another, “Why has the Lord dealt in this way with that great city?” 9 And they will answer, “Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshiped other gods and served them.”

5 “ ‘ “But suppose you do not obey those commands,” announces the Lord. “Then I promise you that this palace will be destroyed. I make that promise by taking an oath in my own name.” ’ ”

6 The Lord speaks about the palace of the king of Judah. He says,

“You are like the land of Gilead to me.

You are like the highest mountain in Lebanon.

But I will make you like a desert.

You will become like towns that no one lives in.

7 I will send destroyers against you.

All of them will come with their weapons.

They will cut up your fine cedar beams.

They will throw them into the fire.

8 “People from many nations will pass by this city. They will ask one another, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’

9 “And the answer will be, ‘Because its people have turned away from the covenant the Lord their God made with them. They have worshiped other gods. And they have served them.’ ”

5 “But if you will not obey these words, I swear by Myself,” declares the Lord, “that this house will become a desolation.” ’ ”

6 For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah:

“You are like Gilead to Me,

Like the summit of Lebanon;

Yet most assuredly I will make you like a wilderness,

Like cities which are not inhabited.

7 “For I will set apart destroyers against you,

Each with his weapons;

And they will cut down your choicest cedars

And throw them on the fire.

8 “Many nations will pass by this city; and they will say to one another, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this great city?’

9 “Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord their God and bowed down to other gods and served them.’ ”