6. This is what the Lord says about the palace where the king of Judah lives: “The palace is tall like the forests of Gilead, like the mountains of Lebanon. But I will make it like a desert, as empty as a city where no one lives.
7. I will send men to destroy the palace, each armed with weapons. They will cut up your strong, beautiful cedar beams and 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 terrible thing to Jerusalem? Jerusalem was such a great city.’
9. This will be the answer to that question: ‘God destroyed Jerusalem because the people of Judah stopped following the agreement of the Lord their God. They worshiped and served other gods.’”