God will take away all the heroes and great soldiers. God will take away all the judges, {\cf2\super [27]} the prophets, {\cf2\super [28]} the people that do magic, and the elders. {\cf2\super [29]}
The names of all the people of Israel were listed in their family histories. Those family histories were put in the book The History of the Kings of Israel.
God will take away the military leaders and the government leaders. God will take away the skilled counselors and the wise men that do magic and try to tell the future.
“Explain this story to the people \{of Israel\}—they always turn against me. Tell them these things: The first eagle is \{Nebuchadnezzar\}, the king of Babylonia. He came to Jerusalem and took away the king and other leaders. He brought them to Babylonia.
Then Nebuchadnezzar made an agreement with a man from the king’s family. Nebuchadnezzar forced that man to make a promise. So this man promised to be loyal to Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar made this man the new king of Judah. Then he took all the powerful men away from Judah.
Then \{God\} said to me, “Son of man, {\cf2\super [67]} do you see what the elders of Israel do in the dark? Each man has a special room for his own false god! Those men say to themselves, ‘The Lord can’t see us. The Lord left this country.’”