Prophecy of Jerusalem’s Fall

²⁶ Then this message from the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁷ “Look, I am the Lord, the God who rules over all flesh. Is anything too difficult for me?” ²⁸ Therefore, this is what the Lord says: “I’m about to give this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he will capture it. ²⁹ The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will come, set this city on fire, and burn it along with the houses on whose roofs incense was burned to Baal and liquid offerings were poured out to other gods in order to provoke me. ³⁰ Indeed, the Israelis^[a] and Judeans^[b] have been doing only evil in my presence since their youth. Indeed, the Israelis have done nothing but provoke me by what they have made with their hands,” declares the Lord.

³¹ “Indeed, this city has provoked me to anger and wrath from the day they built it until now, and so I’ll remove it^[c] from my sight ³² because of all the evil that the Israelis and Judeans have done to provoke me. They, their kings, their officials, their priests, their prophets, the people of Judah, and those living in Jerusalem have done these things.^{[d] 33} They have turned their backs to me rather than their faces. Even though I taught them, teaching them again and again,^[e] they didn’t listen to accept correction. ³⁴ They put their detestable idols in the house that is called by my name and defiled it. ³⁵ They built the high places of Baal that are in the Hinnom Valley^[f] in order to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech—something that I didn’t command, nor did it ever enter my mind for them to require this utterly repugnant thing—and lead Judah into sin.”