"Manynationswill passby thiscity;and they will sayto oneanother,'Whyhas the LORDdonethusto thisgreatcity?'
"Now whenyou tellthispeopleallthesewords,they will sayto you, 'For whatreasonhas the LORDdeclaredallthisgreatcalamityagainstus? And whatis our iniquity,or whatis our sinwhichwe have committedagainst the LORDour God?'
Now the captainof the bodyguardhad takenJeremiahand saidto him, "The LORDyour Godpromisedthiscalamityagainstthisplace;
and the LORDhas brought[it] on and donejustas He promised.Becauseyou [people] sinnedagainst the LORDand did not listento His voice,therefore thisthinghas happenedto you.
The kingsof the earthdid not believe,Nor[did] anyof the inhabitantsof the world,That the adversaryand the enemyCould enterthe gatesof Jerusalem.
"But I will sparea fewof them from the sword,the famineand the pestilencethat they may tellalltheir abominationsamong the nationswherethey go,and may knowthat I am the LORD."
"Then they will comfortyou whenyou seetheir conductand actions,for you will knowthat I have not donein vainwhateverI didto it," declaresthe LordGOD.
"The nationswill knowthat the houseof Israelwentinto exilefor their iniquitybecausethey actedtreacherouslyagainst Me, and I hidMy facefrom them; so I gavethem into the handof their adversaries,and allof them fellby the sword.
So it will be a reproach,a reviling,a warningand an objectof horrorto the nationswhosurroundyou when I executejudgmentsagainst you in anger,wrathand ragingrebukes.I, the LORD,have spoken.
"Righteousnessbelongs to You, O Lord,but to us openshame,as it is thisday--to the menof Judah,the inhabitantsof Jerusalemand allIsrael,those who are nearbyand those who are faraway in allthe countriesto whichYou have driventhem, because of their unfaithfuldeedswhichthey have committedagainst You.
