²⁵ And the answer will be: “It is because this people abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the covenant he made with them when he brought them out of Egypt.^(A)

² When the commander^(A) of the guard found Jeremiah, he said to him, “The Lord your God decreed^(B) this disaster^(C) for this place.^{(D) 3} And now the Lord has brought it about; he has done just as he said he would. All this happened because you people sinned^(E) against the Lord and did not obey^(F) him.

⁹ And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods.^(A)’”

The Lord’s Devastation of the Earth

¹⁰ He replied, “I have been very zealous^(A) for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant,^(B) torn down your altars,^(C) and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left,^(D) and now they are trying to kill me too.”

¹¹ The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain^(E) in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”^(F)

Then a great and powerful wind^(G) tore the mountains apart and shattered^(H) the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire,^(I) but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.^{(J) 13} When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face^(K) and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

¹⁴ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left,^(L) and now they are trying to kill me too.”