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

²⁴ they and indeed all the nations will wonder, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land? What caused this great display of anger?’^{(A) 25} They will conclude, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. ²⁶ They turned and served other gods, worshiping them, gods whom they had not known and whom he had not allotted to them; ²⁷ so the anger of the Lord was kindled against that land, bringing on it every curse written in this book. ²⁸ The Lord uprooted them from their land in anger, fury, and great wrath and cast them into another land, as is now the case.’^(B)

⁸ And many nations will pass by this city, and all of them will say one to another, “Why has the Lord dealt in this way with that great city?”^{(A) 9} And they will answer, “Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord their God and worshiped other gods and served them.”^(B)

²⁰ then I will pluck you^[a] up from the land that I have given you,^[b] and this house, which I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.^{(A) 21} And regarding this house, now exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this house?’^{(B) 22} Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord the God of their ancestors who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they embraced other gods and worshiped them and served them; therefore he has brought all this calamity upon them.’ ”

⁸ This house will become a heap of ruins;^[a] everyone passing by it will be astonished and will hiss, and they will say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this house?’^{(A) 9} Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, worshiping them and serving them; therefore the Lord brought this disaster upon them.’ ”