Against an impious nation I send him, and against a people under my wrath I order him To seize plunder, carry off loot, and to trample them like the mud of the street.
Josiah removed every abomination from all the territories belonging to the Israelites, and he obliged all who were in Israel to serve the Lord, their God. During his lifetime they did not turn away from following the Lord, the God of their ancestors.
They have returned to the crimes of their ancestors who refused to obey my words. They also have followed and served other gods; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their ancestors.
I struck you with blight and mildew; locusts devoured your gardens and vineyards, the caterpillar consumed your fig trees and olive trees; Yet you did not return to me— oracle of the Lord.
The Lord said: Since this people draws near with words only and honors me with their lips alone, though their hearts are far from me, And fear of me has become mere precept of human teaching,
Judah has broken faith; an abominable thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. Judah has profaned the Lord’s holy place, which he loves, and has married a daughter of a foreign god.