So this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will bring so much trouble on Jerusalem and Judah that anyone who hears about it will be shocked.
‘This is what the Lord says: I will bring trouble to this place and to the people living here, as it is written in the book which the king of Judah has read.
The people of the earth have ruined it, because they do not follow God’s teachings or obey God’s laws or keep their agreement with God that was to last forever.
Because of these things, this is what the Lord God says: “I will put a stone in the ground in Jerusalem, a tested stone. Everything will be built on this important and precious rock. Anyone who trusts in it will never be disappointed.
Say, ‘Kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem, listen to this message from the Lord. This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: I will soon bring a disaster on this place that will amaze and frighten everyone who hears about it.
“You said these things would happen to us and our leaders, and you made them happen; you brought on us a great disaster. Nothing has ever been done on earth like what was done to Jerusalem.
Because of you, Jerusalem will be plowed like a field. The city will become a pile of rocks, and the hill on which the Temple stands will be covered with bushes.