Jeremiah 22:1-17

YAHWEH spoke these words to Jeremiah: “Go to the palace of the king of Judah and give him my word. Say: ‘Listen to the word of YAHWEH, king of Judah, who occupies the throne of David, your officials, and people who enter these gates! YAHWEH says to you: Be concerned for justice and righteousness. Rescue the one who is robbed from his oppressor. Do not exploit or mistreat the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow. Stop the violence and do not shed the blood of the innocent in this place. For if you fulfill this command, then there will be kings of David’s lineage to pass through the city’s gates. The kings and their officials will be riding in chariots or riding horses and will be accompanied by the people. But I swear by myself as a witness, if you do not obey these commands, then this palace shall become a ruin, declares YAHWEH!’ ” Yes, listen to what YAHWEH thinks about Judah’s royal palace: “You are as glorious as Gilead to me, as beautiful as the summit of Lebanon; but I swear that I will make you as empty as a desert— like a ghost town. I will appoint a wrecking crew to destroy you, each member with his weapons and tools. They will cut down your pillars of choice cedar and set them on fire. “When many foreigners pass by this city and each one asks another, ‘Why did YAHWEH do this to such a great city?’ the reply will be, ‘Because they forsook the covenant with YAHWEH their God and worshiped and served other gods.’ ” Do not weep for King Josiah, who died, and do not mourn for him; rather, weep bitterly for King Jehoahaz, who is carried away as a captive, for he will never return to see the land of his birth. For this is what YAHWEH has said concerning Shallum son of King Josiah of Judah, who succeeded his father Josiah as king but was led away from here: “He will never return. He will die in the land of his exile, and he will never see his homeland again.” “Doomed is the one who builds his house with unrighteousness, and the upper chambers of his palace with injustice, who compels his fellow man to work for nothing and pays him no wages for his hard labor. Doomed is the one who says, ‘I’ll build a vast palace for myself with spacious upper chambers and large windows. I’ll panel it with cedar and paint it red.’ Does it make you a king just because you build a finer house of cedar than others? Your father lived a satisfying life, yet he dispensed justice and righteousness— and because of this, all went well with him. He upheld the rights of the poor and needy— and look how well he did. Whoever lives this way shows that he knows me,” declares YAHWEH. “But your eyes and heart are only interested in what brings you unjust profit, in violently oppressing your people even if it means shedding innocent blood.”