^20 (A)He ^(B)executed all the priests of the ^[a]high places who were there, on the altars, and ^(C)burned men’s bones on them; and he returned to Jerusalem.

¹³ Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when their slain are among their idols all around their altars, ^(A)on every high hill, ^(B)on all the mountaintops, ^(C)under every green tree, and under every thick oak, wherever they offered sweet incense to all their idols.

³ and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, to the hills, to the ravines, and to the valleys: “Indeed I, even I, will bring a sword against you, and ^(A)I will destroy your ^[a]high places. ⁴ Then your altars shall be desolate, your incense altars shall be broken, and ^(B)I will cast down your slain men before your idols. ⁵ And I will lay the corpses of the children of Israel before their idols, and I will scatter your bones all around your altars. ⁶ In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the ^[b]high places shall be desolate, so that your altars may be laid waste and made desolate, your idols may be broken and made to cease, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be abolished.

The People Plead for Mercy

Jeremiah Mourns for His People

8 “At that time,” says the Lord, “they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves. ² They shall spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served and after which they have walked, which they have sought and ^(A)which they have worshiped. They shall not be gathered ^(B)nor buried; they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. ³ Then ^(C)death shall be chosen rather than life by all the ^[a]residue of those who remain of this evil family, who remain in all the places where I have driven them,” says the Lord of hosts.