The Lord GOD used his own name and made an oath. The Lord God All-Powerful said, “I hate what Jacob is proud of. I hate his strong towers. So I will let an enemy take the city and everything in it.”
The Israelites love sacrifices. They offer the meat and eat it. The Lord does not accept their sacrifices. He remembers their sins, and he will punish them. They will be carried away as prisoners to Egypt.
People will not have to teach their neighbors and relatives to know the Lord, because all people, from the least important to the most important, will know me.” This message is from the Lord. “I will forgive them for the evil things they did. I will not remember their sins.”
“The sins of Judah are written where they cannot be erased— cut into stone with an iron pen, cut deep with a hard tip into the stone that is the hearts of the people. Their sins are carved into the horns of their altars.
He said, “The Lord remembered that you made sacrifices in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. You and your ancestors, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land did that. He remembered what you had done and thought about it.
The Lord GOD made a promise. He promised by his holiness that troubles will come to you. People will use hooks and take you away as prisoners. They will use fishhooks to take away your children.
The Lord All-Powerful said this to me and I heard it with my own ears: “You are guilty of doing wrong, and I promise that you will die before this guilt is forgiven.” The Lord GOD All-Powerful said these things.