A Warning about the Palace

6 For this is what the LORD says concerning the house of the king of Judah:

“You are like Gilead to Me,

like the summit of Lebanon;

but I will surely turn you into a desert,

like cities that are uninhabited.

7 I will appoint destroyers against you,

each man with his weapons,

and they will cut down the choicest of your cedars

and throw them into the fire.

8 And many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’

9 Then people will reply, ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’ ”