²² Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.’”

¹² He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against ^(A)our rulers who ruled us,^[a] by ^(B)bringing upon us a great calamity. ^(C)For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem.

^17 (A)“Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, ^(B)they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were ^(C)like the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. ¹⁸ So ^(D)I poured out my wrath upon them ^(E)for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols ^(F)with which they had defiled it. ^19 (G)I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. ^(H)In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. ²⁰ But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, ^(I)they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, and yet they had to go out of his land.’

²³ They will console you, when you see their ways and their deeds, and you shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, declares the Lord God.”

¹⁶ And ^(A)I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil ^(B)in forsaking me. ^(C)They have made offerings to other gods and ^(D)worshiped the works of their own hands.

Jerusalem Captured and Burned

^17 (A)Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand.

^12 (A)And they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. ^(B)They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and ^(C)bowed down to them. ^(D)And they provoked the Lord to anger. ¹³ They abandoned the Lord ^(E)and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth.