22 Thus says the Lord: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word, and say, (A)‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates. Thus says the Lord: (B)Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And (C)do no wrong or violence (D)to the resident alien, (E)the fatherless, and the widow, nor (F)shed innocent blood in this place. For if you will indeed obey this word, (G)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. But if you will not obey these words, I (H)swear by myself, declares the Lord, that (I)this house shall become a desolation. For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah:

“‘You are like Gilead to me,
    like the summit of (J)Lebanon,
yet surely I will make you a desert,
    (K)an uninhabited city.[a]
(L)I will prepare destroyers against you,
    each with his weapons,
(M)and they shall cut down your choicest cedars
    and cast them into the fire.

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

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 22:6 Hebrew cities

A Message for Judah’s Kings

22 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go over and speak directly to the king of Judah. Say to him, ‘Listen to this message from the Lord, you king of Judah, sitting on David’s throne. Let your attendants and your people listen, too. This 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! If 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. 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.’”

A Message about the Palace

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.
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.

“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?’ And the answer will be, ‘Because they violated their covenant with the Lord their God by worshiping other gods.’”

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