This is what the Lord said to me: “Go over and speak directly to the king of Judah. Say to him, ²‘Listen to this message from the Lord, you king of Judah, sitting on David’s throne. Let your attendants and your people listen, too. ³This is what the Lord says: Be fair-minded and just. Do what is right! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Quit your evil deeds! Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows. Stop murdering the innocent! ⁴If you obey me, there will always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne here in Jerusalem. The king will ride through the palace gates in chariots and on horses, with his parade of attendants and subjects. ⁵But 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.’ ”

A Message about the Palace

⁶Now 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.

⁷I 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?’

Read in Logos