1-3. The Lord sent me to the palace of the king of Judah to speak to the king, his officials, and everyone else who was there. The Lord told me to say:I am the Lord, so pay attention! You have been allowing people to cheat, rob, and take advantage of widows, orphans, and foreigners who live here. Innocent people have become victims of violence, and some of them have even been killed. But now I command you to do what is right and see that justice is done. Rescue everyone who has suffered from injustice.
4. If you obey me, the kings from David's family will continue to rule Judah from this palace. They and their officials will ride in and out on their horses or in their chariots.
5. But if you ignore me, I promise in my own name that this palace will lie in ruins.
6. Listen to what I think about it:the palace of Judah's kingis as glorious as Gileador Lebanon's highest peaks.But it will be as emptyas a ghost townwhen I'm through with it.
7. I'll send troops to tear it apart,and its beautiful cedar beamswill be used for firewood.
8. People from different nations will pass by and ask, “Why did the Lord do this to such a great city as Jerusalem?”
9. Others will answer, “It's because the people worshipped foreign gods and broke the agreement that the Lord their God had made with them.”