This is what the Lord says: “People of Israel, you say I divorced your mother. Then where is the paper that proves it? Or do you think I sold you to pay a debt? Because of the evil things you did, I sold you. Because of the times she turned against me, your mother was sent away.
There are more widows than grains of sand in the sea. I brought a destroyer at noontime against the mothers of the young men of Judah. I suddenly brought pain and fear on the people of Judah.
A message to the prophets: My heart is broken. All my bones shake. I’m like someone who is drunk, like someone who has been overcome with wine. This is because of the Lord and his holy words.
Your mother will be very ashamed; the woman who gave birth to you will be disgraced. Soon Babylonia will be the least important of all the nations. She will be an empty, dry desert.
“Plead with your mother. Accuse her, because she is no longer my wife, and I am no longer her husband. Tell her to stop acting like a prostitute, to stop behaving like an unfaithful wife.
Their mother has acted like a prostitute; the one who became pregnant with them has acted disgracefully. She said, ‘I will chase after my lovers, who give me my food and water, wool and flax, wine and olive oil.’
The Lord All-Powerful says, “At that time I will get rid of the names of the idols from the land; no one will remember them anymore. I will also remove the prophets and unclean spirits from the land.