4 If you do what I say, then the kings who sit on David’s throne will ride through the gates of this palace in chariots and on horses along with their officials and their people.
5 But if you don’t do what I say, I will take an oath on myself,” declares the Lord, “that this palace will become a pile of rubble.
6 “This is what the Lord says about the palace of the king of Judah:This palace is like Gilead to me,like the top of Lebanon.I will certainly turn it into a desert,into cities that no one lives in.
7 I will send people to destroy you.They will have their own weapons.They will cut down your finest cedar treesand throw them on a fire.
8 “People from many nations will pass by this city and ask each other, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this important city?’
9 The answer will be: ‘They rejected the promise of the Lord their God. They worshiped other gods and served them.’ ”
10 Don’t cry for the dead.Don’t shake your heads at them.Cry bitterly for those who are taken away,because they won’t come back to see their homeland.