22 Thus said Jehovah: Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, ² and say, Hear the word of Jehovah, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates. ³ Thus saith Jehovah: Execute ye justice and righteousness, and deliver him that is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence, to the sojourner, the fatherless, nor the widow; neither shed innocent blood in this place. ⁴ For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting ^[a]upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people. ⁵ But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith Jehovah, that this house shall become a desolation. ⁶ For thus saith Jehovah ^[b]concerning the house of the king of Judah: Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon; yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited. ⁷ And I will ^[c]prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons; and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. ⁸ And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbor, Wherefore hath Jehovah done thus unto this great city? ⁹ Then they shall answer, Because they forsook the covenant of Jehovah their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.