From the days of our ancestors until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we, our kings, and our priests have been punished by the sword and captivity. Foreign kings have taken away our things and shamed us, even as it is today.
So the Lord God All-Powerful, the Mighty One of Israel, says: “You, my enemies, will not cause me any more trouble. I will pay you back for what you did.
When the enemy attacked, a woman with seven sons felt faint because they would all die. She became weak and unable to breathe. Her bright day became dark from sadness. She felt shame and disgrace. And everyone else left alive in Judah I will hand over to the enemies, too!” says the Lord.
Your evil will bring punishment to you, and the wrong you have done will teach you a lesson. Think about it and understand that it is a terrible evil to turn away from the Lord your God. It is wrong not to fear me,” says the Lord God All-Powerful.
But the Lord is with me like a strong warrior, so those who are chasing me will trip and fall; they will not defeat me. They will be ashamed because they have failed, and their shame will never be forgotten.
Like a storm, my punishment will blow all your shepherds away and send your friends into captivity. Then you will really be ashamed and disgraced because of all the wicked things you did.
“But you people of Judah did not listen to me,” says the Lord. “You made me angry by worshiping idols that were the work of your own hands, so I punished you.”
Let us lie down in our shame, and let our disgrace cover us like a blanket. We have sinned against the Lord our God, both we and our ancestors. From our youth until now, we have not obeyed the Lord our God.”
It is because the people who lived there did evil. They made me angry by burning incense and worshiping other gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors ever knew.
Listen to the sound of my people. They cry from a faraway land: “Isn’t the Lord still in Jerusalem? Isn’t Jerusalem’s king still there?” But God says, “Why did the people make me angry by worshiping idols, useless foreign idols?”
The sound of loud crying is heard from Jerusalem: ‘We are truly ruined! We are truly ashamed! We must leave our land, because our houses are in ruins.’ ”
You also had sexual relations with the Egyptians, who were your neighbors and partners in sexual sin. Your sexual sins became even worse, and they caused me to be angry.