² The captain of the guard took Jeremiah and said to him, ^(A)“The Lord your God pronounced this disaster against this place.

²⁴ all the nations ^(A)will say, ^(B)‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land? What caused the heat of this great anger?’ ²⁵ Then people will say, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, ²⁶ and went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them. ²⁷ Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against this land, ^(C)bringing upon it all the curses written in this book, ²⁸ and the Lord ^(D)uprooted them from their land in anger and fury and great wrath, and ^(E)cast them into another land, as they are this day.’

⁸ “‘And many nations will pass by this city, and every man will say to his neighbor, ^(A)“Why has the Lord dealt thus with this great city?” ^9 (B)And they will answer, “Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and worshiped other gods and served them.”’”

^20 (A)then I will pluck you^[a] up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it ^(B)a proverb and a byword among all peoples. ²¹ And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, ^(C)‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ 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.’”

⁸ And this house will become a heap of ruins.^[a] Everyone passing by it will be astonished and will hiss, and they will say, ^(A)‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ ⁹ Then they will say, ‘Because ^(B)they abandoned the Lord their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore the Lord has brought all this disaster on them.’”