Jeremiah 51:5Holy Bible: Easy-to-Read VersionThe Lord All-Powerful did not leave Israel and Judah alone, like a widow. No, they are guilty of leaving the Holy One of Israel. Their God did not leave them. They left him! See the chapter |
Then God said, “Son of man, do you see this? The people of Judah think my Temple is so unimportant that they will do these terrible things here in my Temple! This country is filled with violence, and they constantly do things to make me angry. Look, they are wearing rings in their noses to honor the moon as a false god!
This is what the Lord says. “Jacob, my servant, do not be afraid. I am with you. I sent you away to many different places. But I will not destroy you completely. But I will destroy all those nations. You must be punished for the bad things you did. So I will not let you escape your punishment. I will discipline you, but I will be fair.”
I will do these things because the people of Judah have stopped following me. They have made this a place for foreign gods. The people of Judah have burned sacrifices in this place to other gods. The people long ago did not worship those gods. Their ancestors did not worship them. These are new gods from other countries. The kings of Judah filled this place with the blood of innocent children.
Yes, we were slaves, but you would not let us be slaves forever. You were kind to us. You made the kings of Persia be kind to us. Your Temple was ruined, but you gave us new life so that we can rebuild your Temple and repair it like new. God, you helped us build a wall to protect Judah and Jerusalem.