And they burned the House of Elohim, and broke down the wall of Yerushalayim, and burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its valuable utensils.
“And this house, which has been exalted, everyone who passes by it shall be astonished, and hiss, and say, ‘Why has יהוה done thus to this land and to this house?’
“Thus said יהוה, ‘See, I am bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the sovereign of Yehuḏah,
then I shall pluck them from My land, which I have given them, and this house which I have set apart for My Name I shall cast out of My sight and make it to be a proverb and a mockery among all peoples.
And they said to me, “The remnant who are left of the captivity in the province are there in great evil and reproach. And the wall of Yerushalayim is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.”
and said to the sovereign, “Let the sovereign live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ burial-sites, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?”
“For I have set My face against this city for evil and not for good,” declares יהוה. “It is given into the hand of the sovereign of Baḇel, and he shall burn it with fire.” ’
“And I shall punish you according to the fruit of your deeds,” declares יהוה. “And I shall kindle a fire in its forest, and it shall consume all that is around her.” ’ ”
“And the Kasdim who fight against this city shall come and set fire to this city and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs they burned incense to Ba‛al and poured out drink offerings to other mighty ones, to provoke Me.
“I shall also do to this house, which is called by My Name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I did to Shiloh.
“But My words and My laws, which I commanded My servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers?” “Then they turned back and said, ‘As יהוה of hosts planned to do to us, according to our ways and according to our deeds, so He has done with us.’” ’ ”