6. The Lord speaks about the palace of the king of Judah. He says, "You are like the land of Gilead to me. You are like the highest mountain in Lebanon. But I will make you like a desert. You will become like towns that no one lives in.
7. I will send destroyers against you. All of them will come with their weapons. They will cut up your fine cedar beams. They will throw them into the fire.
8. "People from many nations will pass by this city. They will ask one another, 'Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?'
9. "And the answer will be, 'Because its people have turned away from the covenant the Lord their God made with them. They have worshiped other gods. And they have served them.' "
10. Don't sob over dead King Josiah. Don't be sad because he's gone. Instead, sob bitterly over King Jehoahaz. He was forced to leave his country. He will never return. He'll never see his own land again.
11. Jehoahaz became king of Judah after his father Josiah. But he has gone away from this place. That's because the Lord says about him, "He will never return.
12. He will die in Egypt. That is where he was taken as a prisoner. He will not see this land again."
13. The Lord says, "How terrible it will be for King Jehoiakim! He builds his palace by mistreating his people. He builds its upstairs rooms with money that was gained by sinning. He makes his own people work for nothing. He does not pay them for what they do.
14. He says, 'I will build myself a great palace. It will have large rooms upstairs.' So he makes big windows in it. He covers its walls with cedar boards. He decorates it with red paint.
15. "Jehoiakim, does having more and more cedar boards make you a king? Your father Josiah had enough to eat and drink. He did what was right and fair. So everything went well with him.
16. He stood up for those who were poor or needy. So everything went well with him. That is what it means to know me," announces the Lord.
17. "Jehoiakim, the only thing on your mind is to get rich by cheating others. You would even kill people who are not guilty of doing anything wrong. You would mistreat them. You would take everything they own."
18. So the Lord speaks about King Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah. He says, "His people will not sob over him. They will not say, 'My poor brother! My poor sister!' They will not sob over him. They will not say, 'My poor master! How sad that his glory is gone!'
19. In fact, he will be buried like a donkey. His body will be dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem."