Jeremiah 22:3-10

English Standard Version

³Thus says the Lord: ^(A)Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And ^(B)do no wrong or violence ^(C)to the resident alien, ^(D)the fatherless, and the widow, nor ^(E)shed innocent blood in this place. ⁴For if you will indeed obey this word, ^(F)then there shall enter the gates of this house kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their servants and their people. ⁵But if you will not obey these words, I ^(G)swear by myself, declares the Lord, that ^(H)this house shall become a desolation. ⁶For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah:

“‘You are like Gilead to me,
    like the summit of ^(I)Lebanon,
yet surely I will make you a desert,
    ^(J)an uninhabited city.^[a]
⁷^(K)I will prepare destroyers against you,
    each with his weapons,
^(L)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, ^(M)“Why has the Lord dealt thus with this great city?” ⁹^(N)And they will answer, “Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and worshiped other gods and served them.”’”

¹⁰^(O)Weep not for him who is dead,
    nor grieve for him,
^(P)but weep bitterly for him who goes away,
    for he shall return no more
    to see his native land.