But they were mocking the messengers of Elohim and despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of יהוה arose against His people, until there was no healing.
“But they became disobedient and rebelled against You, and cast Your Torah behind their backs. And they slew Your prophets who had warned them, to bring them back to Yourself. And they worked great blasphemies.
“And You had patience with them for many years, and did warn them by Your Spirit, by the hand of Your prophets, yet they would not give ear. Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
Against whom are you sporting? Against whom do you make a wide mouth and stick out the tongue? Are you not children of transgression, offspring of falsehood,
“And I shall allot you to the sword, and let you all bow down to the slaughter, because I called and you did not answer, I spoke and you did not hear, and you did evil before My eyes and chose that in which I did not delight.”
‘This evil people, who refuse to hear My Words, who walk in the stubbornness of their heart, and walk after other mighty ones to serve them and to bow themselves to them, is like this girdle which is completely useless.
“And they have turned their back to Me, and not their face – though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, they did not listen to receive instruction.
And they took Yirmeyahu and threw him into the dungeon of Malkiyahu the sovereign’s son, which was in the court of the guard, and they let Yirmeyahu down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mud. So Yirmeyahu sank in the mud.
“And we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your Name to our sovereigns, our heads, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
“Because of this, see, I send you prophets, and wise men, and scholars of Scripture. Some of them you shall kill and impale, and some of them you shall flog in your congregations and persecute from city to city,
“See, you despisers, marvel and perish, for I work a work in your days, a work which you would in no way believe if someone were to declare it to you.’ ”
“Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who before announced the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers,
However, they did not listen to their rulers either, but went whoring after other mighty ones, and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers walked, in obeying the commands of יהוה – they did not do so.