The Lord’s instruction to the enemy to lay siege to Jerusalem (Jeremiah 6:6a) is followed by a lament from the Lord in Jeremiah 6:6–7. There is both condemnation and sorrow in the lament. The Lord condemns Jerusalem because there is nothing but oppression in her,
which is why the city must be punished. The Lord is the one who orders the destruction of Jerusalem, and yet he laments the evil that makes this order necessary.1
6 For thus says the LORD of hosts: “Cut down her trees; cast up a siege mound against Jerusalem. This is the city that must be punished; there is nothing but oppression within her.