I bought male and female slaves, and slaves were also born in my house. I had large herds and flocks, more than anyone in Jerusalem had ever had before.
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.
You will lose the land I gave you, and it is your own fault. I will let your enemies take you as their slaves to a land you have never known. This is because you have made my anger burn like a hot fire, and it will burn forever.”
When the people of Judah ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these terrible things to us?’ then give them this answer: ‘You have left the Lord and served foreign idols in your own land. So now you will serve foreigners in a land that does not belong to you.’