Then they burnedthe houseof Godand brokedownthe wallof Jerusalem,and burnedallits fortifiedbuildingswith fireand destroyedallits valuablearticles.
"And thishousewill becomea heapof ruins;everyonewho passesby will be astonishedand hissand say,Whyhas the LORDdonethusto thislandand to thishouse?'
thussaysthe LORD,"Behold,I am bringingevilon thisplaceand on its inhabitants,[even] allthe curseswrittenin the bookwhichthey have readin the presenceof the kingof Judah.
then I will uprootyou from My landwhichI have givenyou, and thishousewhichI have consecratedfor My nameI will castout of My sightand I will makeit a proverband a bywordamong allpeoples.
They saidto me, "The remnanttherein the provincewhosurvivedthe captivityare in greatdistressand reproach,and the wallof Jerusalemis brokendownand its gatesare burnedwith fire."
I saidto the king,"Let the kingliveforever.Whyshould my facenot be sadwhenthe city,the placeof my fathers'tombs,lies desolateand its gateshave been consumedby fire?"
O God,the nationshave invadedYour inheritance;They have defiledYour holytemple;They have laidJerusalemin ruins.
For they have devouredJacobAnd laidwastehis habitation.
It is burnedwith fire,it is cutdown;They perishat the rebukeof Your countenance.
"I will layit waste;It will not be prunedor hoed,But briarsand thornswill comeup. I will also chargethe cloudsto rainnorainon it."
"For I have setMy faceagainst thiscityfor harmand not for good,"declaresthe LORD."It will be giveninto the handof the kingof Babylonand he will burnit with fire."'
"But I will punishyou according to the resultsof your deeds,"declaresthe LORD,"And I will kindlea firein its forestThat it may devourallits environs."'"
"The Chaldeanswho are fightingagainstthiscitywill enterand setthiscityon fireand burnit, with the houseswhere[people] have offeredincenseto Baalon their roofsand pouredout drinkofferingsto othergodsto provokeMe to anger.
therefore, I will doto the housewhichis calledby My name,in whichyou trust,and to the placewhichI gaveyou and your fathers,as I didto Shiloh.
"Do not trustin deceptivewords,saying,Thisis the templeof the LORD,the templeof the LORD,the templeof the LORD.'
Howdarkthe goldhas become,[How] the puregoldhas changed!The sacredstonesare pouredout At the cornerof everystreet.
Therefore,on accountof you Zionwill be plowedas a field,Jerusalemwill becomea heapof ruins,And the mountainof the temple[will become] highplacesof a forest.
"But did not My wordsand My statutes,whichI commandedMy servantsthe prophets,overtakeyour fathers?Then they repentedand said,As the LORDof hostspurposedto doto us in accordance with our waysand our deeds,soHe has dealtwith us.'"'"
"[As for] these thingswhichyou are lookingat, the dayswill comein whichthere will not be leftone stoneupon anotherwhichwill not be torn down."
