And I will announce judgment against my people, because they are evil and have turned away from me. They offered sacrifices to other gods and worshiped idols they made with their own hands.

This is what the Lord says: “Do you think that I was not fair to your ancestors? Is that why they turned away from me? Your ancestors worshiped worthless idols, and they became worthless themselves.

“The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ The people who know the law did not want to know me. The leaders of the people of Israel turned against me. The prophets spoke in the name of the false god Baal. They worshiped worthless idols.”

Has any nation ever stopped worshiping their old gods so that they could worship new gods? No! And their gods are not really gods at all! But my people stopped worshiping their glorious God and started worshiping idols that are worth nothing.

“Judah, how can you say to me, ‘I am not guilty because I have not worshiped the Baal idols’? Think about what you did in the valley. Think about what you have done. You are like a fast she-camel that runs from place to place.

Judah did not care that she was acting like a prostitute. So she made her country ‘dirty.’ She committed the sin of adultery by worshiping idols made out of stone and wood.

But you must recognize your sin. You turned against the Lord your God. That is your sin. You worshiped the idols of other nations. You worshiped them under every green tree. You did not obey me.’” This message is from the Lord.

It was foolish to worship idols on the hills. All the loud parties on the mountains were wrong. Surely the salvation of Israel comes from the Lord our God.

“Jeremiah, stand at the gate of the Lord’s house. Teach this message at the gate: “‘Hear the message from the Lord, all you people of the nation of Judah. All you who come through these gates to worship the Lord, hear this message.

Will you steal and murder? Will you commit adultery? Will you falsely accuse other people? Will you worship the false god Baal and follow other gods that you have not known?

This is what the people of Judah are doing: The children gather wood. The fathers use the wood to make a fire. The women make the dough and then make cakes of bread to offer to the Queen of Heaven. The people of Judah pour out drink offerings to worship other gods. They do this to make me angry.

They will spread the bones on the ground under the sun, the moon, and the stars. The people of Jerusalem love to worship the sun, the moon, and the stars. No one will gather the bones and bury them again. So the bones of those people will be like dung thrown on the ground.

Listen to my people. Everywhere in this country, people are crying for help. They say, “Is the Lord still at Zion? Is Zion’s King still there?” But God says, “The people of Judah worshiped their worthless foreign idols. That made me very angry! Why did they do that?”

If you are angry, then punish the other nations. They don’t know or respect you. They don’t worship you. Those nations destroyed Jacob’s family. They destroyed Israel completely. They destroyed Israel’s homeland.

They are committing the same sins that their ancestors did. Their ancestors refused to listen to my message. They followed and worshiped other gods. The family of Israel and the family of Judah have broken the agreement I made with their ancestors.”

“People of Judah, you have many idols—there are as many idols as there are towns in Judah. You have built many altars for worshiping that disgusting god Baal—there are as many altars as there are streets in Jerusalem.

I will ruin them because they refuse to listen to my messages. They are stubborn and do only what they want to do. They follow and worship other gods. They will be like this linen loincloth. They will be ruined and not good for anything.

You must tell them: ‘Terrible things will happen to you because your ancestors stopped following me.’ This message is from the Lord. ‘They stopped following me and began to follow and serve other gods. They worshiped those other gods. Your ancestors left me and stopped obeying my law.

Lord, you are my strength and my protection. You are a safe place to run to in time of trouble. The nations will come to you from all around the world. They will say, “Our fathers had false gods. They worshiped those worthless idols, but the idols did not help them.

They remember those things on the mountains in the open country. The people of Judah have many treasures. I will give those things to other people. People will destroy all the high places in your country. You worshiped there, and that was a sin.

I will do these things because the people of Judah have stopped following me. They have made this a place for foreign gods. The people of Judah have burned sacrifices in this place to other gods. The people long ago did not worship those gods. Their ancestors did not worship them. These are new gods from other countries. The kings of Judah filled this place with the blood of innocent children.

‘The houses in Jerusalem will become as “dirty” as this place, Topheth. The kings’ palaces will be ruined like this place, Topheth, because the people worshiped false gods on the roofs of their houses. They worshiped the stars and burned sacrifices to honor them. They gave drink offerings to false gods.’”

This will be the answer to that question: ‘God destroyed Jerusalem because the people of Judah stopped following the agreement of the Lord their God. They worshiped and served other gods.’”

They are trying to make the people of Judah forget my name by telling each other these false dreams. They are trying to make my people forget me, just as their ancestors forgot me and worshiped the false god Baal.

Don’t follow other gods. Don’t serve or worship them. Don’t worship idols that someone has made. That only makes me angry with you. By doing this you only hurt yourselves.”