Jeremiah 22:1-9

Common English Bible

Oracles against the kings

22 The Lord proclaims: Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and declare this message: ²Listen to the Lord’s word, king of Judah, you who sit on David’s throne—you and your attendants, and all those who go through these gates. ³The Lord proclaims: Do what is just and right; rescue the oppressed from the power of the oppressor. Don’t exploit or mistreat the refugee, the orphan, and the widow. Don’t spill the blood of the innocent in this place. ⁴If you obey this command, then through the gates of this palace will come kings who occupy the throne of David, riding on chariots and horses along with their entourage and subjects. ⁵But if you ignore these words, I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that this palace will become a ruin. ⁶The Lord proclaims concerning the palace of the king of Judah:

Though you are like Gilead to me,
    like the summit of Lebanon,
    I will turn you into a desert—uninhabited cities.
⁷I will summon destroyers against you,
    who will use their weapons
        to cut down your finest cedars
        and hurl them into the fire.

⁸People from many nations will pass by this city and ask each other: “Why has the Lord treated that great city like this?” ⁹And the answer will be, “Because they abandoned the covenant with the Lord their God and worshipped and served other gods.”

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