The Lord says,“ The people of Judah have sinned again and again. So I will judge them. They have refused to obey my law. They have not kept my rules. Other gods have led them astray. Their people of long ago worshiped those gods.

耶和华如此说：“犹大人三番四次地犯罪，我必不免去他们的刑罚；因为他们厌弃耶和华的训诲，不遵守他的律例。他们列祖所随从虚假的偶像使他们走迷了。

耶和华如此说：“犹大三番四次犯罪，厌弃耶和华的训诲，不遵守他的律例；他们祖先所随从虚假的偶像使他们走迷了，我必不撤销对它的惩罚。

耶和华如此说：“犹大三番四次犯罪，厌弃耶和华的训诲，不遵守他的律例；他们祖先所随从虚假的偶像使他们走迷了，我必不撤销对它的惩罚。

耶和华说：“犹大人三番四次地犯罪，我必不收回对他们的惩罚，因为他们厌弃耶和华的训诲，不遵守我的律例。他们祖先祭拜的偶像使他们走入歧途。

“耶和华这样说：‘犹大三番四次犯罪，我必不收回惩罚他的命令；因为他弃绝耶和华的律法，不遵守他的典章；反被他们列祖跟从的偶像，使他们走错了路。

耶和華如此說：猶大人三番四次地犯罪，我必不免去他們的刑罰；因為他們厭棄耶和華的訓誨，不遵守他的律例。他們列祖所隨從虛假的偶像使他們走迷了。

耶和華如此說：「猶大三番四次犯罪，厭棄耶和華的訓誨，不遵守他的律例；他們祖先所隨從虛假的偶像使他們走迷了，我必不撤銷對它的懲罰。

耶和華如此說：「猶大三番四次犯罪，厭棄耶和華的訓誨，不遵守他的律例；他們祖先所隨從虛假的偶像使他們走迷了，我必不撤銷對它的懲罰。

耶和華說：「猶大人三番四次地犯罪，我必不收回對他們的懲罰，因為他們厭棄耶和華的訓誨，不遵守我的律例。他們祖先祭拜的偶像使他們走入歧途。

“耶和華這樣說：‘猶大三番四次犯罪，我必不收回懲罰他的命令；因為他棄絕耶和華的律法，不遵守他的典章；反被他們列祖跟從的偶像，使他們走錯了路。

永恆主這麼說：『猶大三番四次地悖逆，我必不收回成命，因為他們棄絕了永恆主的指教，不遵守他的律例；他們的偶像——虛謊——就是他們列祖所隨從的、使他們走迷了路了。

耶和華曰、猶大干罪、至三至四、我不挽回厥罰、以其棄耶和華之法律、不守其典章、厥祖所行之虛誕、使之迷惘、

耶和華又曰、猶大犯罪、至三至四、更藐視我法度、不守我禮儀、其祖奉事虛偽、彼亦昏迷於道、故我必罰其罪、

主如是云、猶大人犯罪、至三至四、更藐視主之律法、不守其律例、其祖崇事虛偽、彼亦為斯虛偽所迷、故我降罰以報之、必不挽回、

This is what the Lord says:“ For three sins of Judah, even for four, I will not relent. Because they have rejected the law of the Lord and have not kept his decrees, because they have been led astray by false gods, the gods their ancestors followed,

Thus says the Lord:“ For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have rejected the law of the Lord, and have not kept his statutes, but their lies have led them astray, those after which their fathers walked.

This is what the Lord says:“ The people of Judah have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They have rejected the instruction of the Lord, refusing to obey his decrees. They have been led astray by the same lies that deceived their ancestors.

The LORD says: I will not relent from punishing Judah for three crimes, even four, because they have rejected the instruction of the LORD and have not kept his statutes. The lies that their ancestors followed have led them astray.

This is what the Lord says:“ For three offenses of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke its punishment, Because they rejected the Law of the Lord And have not kept His statutes; Their lies also have led them astray, Those which their fathers followed.

Thus says the Lord:“ For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they have despised the law of the Lord, And have not kept His commandments. Their lies lead them astray, Lies which their fathers followed.

Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Judah, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have rejected the law of Jehovah, and have not kept his statutes, and their lies have caused them to err, after which their fathers did walk.

The Lord says: I will not relent from punishing Judah for three crimes, even four, because they have rejected the instruction of the Lord and have not kept His statutes. The lies that their ancestors followed have led them astray.

Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away[ the punishment] thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:

This is what the LORD says:“ Because Judah has committed three covenant transgressions– make that four!– I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They rejected the LORD’s law; they did not obey his commands. Their false gods, to which their fathers were loyal, led them astray.

Yahweh says:“ For three transgressions of Judah, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have rejected Yahweh’s law, and have not kept his statutes, and their lies have led them astray, after which their fathers walked;

They had not obeyed my laws. They had turned their backs on my rules. They had misused my Sabbath days. They only wanted to worship the statues of their parents’ gods.

But they turned their backs on my laws. They did not obey my rules. They misused my Sabbath days. Their hearts were committed to worshiping the statues of their gods.

“‘ “But in the desert the people of Israel refused to obey me. They did not follow my rules. They turned their backs on my laws. The person who obeys them will live by them. They totally misused my Sabbath days. So I said I would pour out my great anger on them. I would destroy them in the desert.

The Lord is bringing charges against Judah. He will punish Jacob’s people because of how they act. He’ll pay them back for the evil things they’ve done.

You brag,“ We have entered into a covenant with the place of the dead. We have made an agreement with the grave. When a terrible plague comes to punish us, it can’t touch us. That’s because we depend on lies to keep us safe. We hide behind what isn’t true.”

“ If someone carves a statue of a god, what is it worth? What value is there in a god that teaches lies? The one who trusts in this kind of god worships his own creation. He makes statues of gods that can’t speak.

The elders and important leaders are the heads. The prophets who teach lies are the tails.Those who guide the people of Israel are leading them down the wrong path. So those who follow them aren’t on the right road.

And even Judah didn’t obey the commands of the Lord their God. They followed the practices Israel had started.

We’ve done some very evil things. We haven’t obeyed the commands, rules and laws you gave your servant Moses.

They chose a lie instead of the truth about God. They worshiped and served created things. They didn’t worship the Creator. But he is praised forever. Amen.

The king heard the words of the Book of the Law. When he did, he tore his royal robes.He gave orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah. Ahikam was the son of Shaphan. Akbor was the son of Micaiah. And Asaiah was the king’s attendant. Josiah commanded them,“ Go. Ask the Lord for advice. Ask him about what is written in this book that has been found. Do it for me. Also do it for the people and the whole nation of Judah. The Lord is very angry with us. That’s because our people who have lived before us didn’t obey the words of this book. They didn’t do everything written there about us.”Hilkiah the priest went to speak to Huldah the prophet. So did Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan and Asaiah. Huldah was the wife of Shallum. Shallum was the son of Tikvah. Tikvah was the son of Harhas. Shallum took care of the sacred robes. Huldah lived in the New Quarter of Jerusalem.Huldah said to them,“ The Lord is the God of Israel. He says,‘ Here is what you must tell the man who sent you to me.Tell him,“ The Lord says,‘ I am going to bring horrible trouble on this place and its people. Everything written in the book the king of Judah has read will take place.That’s because the people have deserted me. They have burned incense to other gods. They have made me very angry because of the statues of gods their hands have made. So my anger will burn like a fire against this place. And the fire of my anger will not be put out.’ ” ’

Flames of fire burn up straw. Dry grass sinks down into those flames. Evil people will be like plants whose roots rot away. They will be like flowers that are blown away like dust. That’s because they have said no to the law of the Lord who rules over all. They have turned against the message of the Holy One of Israel.So the Lord is angry with his people. He raises his hand against them and strikes them down. The mountains shake. The bodies of dead people lie in the streets like trash. Even then, the Lord is still angry. His hand is still raised against them.

“ Out of all the families on earth I have chosen only you. So I will punish you because you have committed so many sins.”

“‘ On the other hand, suppose you do not listen to me. Suppose you do not carry out all my commands.Suppose you say no to my rules and turn away from my laws. And suppose you break my covenant by failing to carry out all my commands.

I spoke to their children there. I said,‘ Do not follow the rules your parents gave you. Do not obey their laws. Do not make yourselves“ unclean” by worshiping their gods.

Lord, you give me strength. You are like a fort to me. When I’m in trouble, I go to you for safety. The nations will come to you from one end of the earth to the other. They will gather together and say,“ Our people of long ago didn’t own anything except statues of gods. The statues were worthless. They didn’t do them any good.Do human beings really make their own gods? Yes. But they aren’t really gods at all!”

Those who think they are wise will be put to shame. They will become terrified. They will be trapped. They have not accepted my message. So what kind of wisdom do they have?

Instead, they have done what their stubborn hearts wanted them to do. They have worshiped the gods that are named Baal. They have done what their people have taught them to do through the years.”

The visions of those prophets are false. They use magic to try to find out what is going to happen. But their magic tricks are lies. They say,‘ The Lord announces.’ But I have not sent them. In spite of that, they expect him to make their words come true.You prophets have seen false visions. You have used magic to try to find out what is going to happen. But your magic tricks are lies. So you lied when you said,‘ The Lord announces.’ I did not even speak to you at all.”“‘ The Lord and King says,“ I am against you prophets. Your messages are false. Your visions do not come true,” announces the Lord and King.“ Israel, my power will be against the prophets who see false visions. Their magic tricks are lies. They will not be among the leaders of my people. They will not be listed in the records of Israel. In fact, they will not even enter the land. Then you will know that I am the Lord and King.“‘ “They lead my people away from me. They say,‘ Peace.’ But there isn’t any peace. They are like people who build a weak wall. They try to cover up the weakness by painting the wall white.Tell those who do this that their wall is going to fall. Heavy rains will come. I will send hailstones crashing down. Powerful winds will blow.The wall will fall down. Then people will ask them,‘ Now where is the paint you covered it with?’ ”“‘ So the Lord and King speaks. He says,“ When I am very angry, I will send a powerful wind. Hailstones and heavy rains will come. They will fall with great force.I will tear down the wall you prophets painted over. I will knock it down. The only thing left will be its foundation. When it falls, you will be destroyed along with it. Then you will know that I am the Lord.So I will pour out all my great anger on the wall. I will also send it against you prophets who painted it. I will say to you,‘ The wall is gone. You who painted it will be gone too.You prophets of Israel prophesied to Jerusalem. You saw visions of peace for its people. But there wasn’t any peace,’ announces the Lord and King.” ’

A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said,“ Son of man, tell the people of Jerusalem the evil things they have done. I hate those things.Tell them,‘ The Lord and King speaks to Jerusalem. He says,“ Your history in the land of Canaan goes back a long way. Your father was an Amorite. Your mother was a Hittite.On the day you were born your cord was not cut. You were not washed with water to clean you up. You were not rubbed with salt. And you were not wrapped in large strips of cloth.No one took pity on you. No one was concerned enough to do any of these things for you. Instead, you were thrown out into an open field. You were hated on the day you were born.“‘ “I was passing by. I saw you kicking around in your blood. As you were lying there, I said to you,‘ Live!’I made you grow like a plant in a field. Soon you had grown up. You became a young adult. Your breasts had formed. Your hair had grown. But you were completely naked.“‘ “Later, I was passing by again. I looked at you. I saw that you were old enough for love. So I married you and took good care of you. I covered your naked body. I made a firm promise to you. I entered into a covenant with you. And you became mine,” announces the Lord and King.“‘ “I bathed you with water. I washed the blood off you. And I put lotions on you.I put a beautiful dress on you. I gave you sandals made out of fine leather. I dressed you in fine linen. I covered you with expensive clothes.I decorated you with jewelry. I put bracelets on your arms. I gave you a necklace for your neck.I put rings on your nose and ears. And I gave you a beautiful crown for your head.So you were decorated with gold and silver. Your clothes were made out of fine linen. They were made out of expensive and beautiful cloth. Your food was made out of honey, olive oil and the finest flour. You became very beautiful. You became a queen.You were so beautiful that your fame spread among the nations. The glory I had given you made your beauty perfect,” announces the Lord and King.“‘ “But you trusted in your beauty. You used your fame to become a prostitute. You offered your body freely to anyone who passed by. In fact, you gave yourself to anyone who wanted you.You used some of your clothes to make high places colorful. That is where people worshiped other gods. You were a prostitute there. You went to your lover and he took your beauty.I had given you fine jewelry. It was made out of gold and silver. You used it to make for yourself statues of male gods. You worshiped those gods. You were not faithful to me.You put your beautiful clothes on them. You offered my oil and incense to them.You also offered them food. It was made out of olive oil, honey and the finest flour. I had given it to you to eat. You offered it as sweet- smelling incense to them. That is what you did,” announces the Lord and King.“‘ “Then you took your sons and daughters who belonged to me. And you sacrificed them as food to other gods. Wasn’t it enough for you to be a prostitute?You killed my children. You sacrificed them to other gods.You did not remember the days when you were young. At that time you were completely naked. You were kicking around in your blood. But now you have done evil things. I hate them. You have worshiped other gods. You have not been faithful to me.“‘ “How terrible it will be for you!” announces the Lord and King.“ How terrible for you! You continued to sin against me.Your people built up mounds for themselves in every market. They put little places of worship on them.They set them up at every street corner. Jerusalem, you misused your beauty. You offered your body to anyone who passed by. You did it again and again.You committed shameful acts with the people of Egypt. They were your neighbors who were ready to have sex with you. You offered yourself to them again and again. That made me very angry.So I reached out my powerful hand against you. I made your territory smaller. I handed you over to your Philistine enemies. The people in their towns were shocked by your impure conduct.You also committed shameful acts with the people of Assyria. Nothing ever seemed to satisfy you. You could never get enough.Then you offered yourself to the people of Babylon. But that did not satisfy you either. There are many traders in the land of Babylon.“‘ “I am filled with great anger against you,” announces the Lord and King.“ Just look at all the things you are doing! You are acting like a prostitute who has no shame at all.Your people built up mounds at every street corner. You put little places of worship on them in every market. But you did not really act like a prostitute. That’s because you refused to let your lovers pay you anything.“‘ “You unfaithful wife! You would rather be with strangers than with your own husband!Every prostitute receives gifts. Instead, you give gifts to all your lovers. You offer them money to come to you from everywhere. You want them to sleep with you. You are not faithful to me.As a prostitute, you are the opposite of others. No one runs after you to sleep with you. You are exactly the opposite. You pay them. They do not pay you.” ’ ”You prostitute, listen to the Lord’ s message.The Lord and King says,“ You poured out your desire on your lovers. You took off your clothing and slept with them. You did it again and again. You worshiped other gods. I hate them. You even sacrificed your children to them.So I am going to gather together all the lovers you found pleasure with. They include those you loved and those you hated. I will gather them against you from everywhere. I will take your clothes off right in front of them. Then they will see you completely naked.I will hand down my sentence against you. You will be punished like women who commit adultery and sacrifice their children to other gods. I am so angry with you. So I will sentence you to death for everything you have done.Then I will hand you over to your lovers. They will tear down those mounds you built. They will destroy the little places of worship you put on them. They will take your clothes off. They will remove your fine jewelry. And they will leave you completely naked.They will bring a crowd against you. The crowd will put you to death by throwing stones at you. And they will chop you to pieces with their swords.They will burn down your houses and punish you. Many women will see it. I will not let you be a prostitute anymore. You will no longer pay your lovers.Then my great anger against you will die down. My jealous anger will turn away from you. I will be calm. I will not be angry anymore.“ You did not remember the days when you were young. The things you did made me very angry. So anything that happens to you will be your own fault,” announces the Lord and King.“ You added impure conduct to all the other evil things you did. I hate all those things.“ All those who use proverbs will use this one about you. They will say,‘ Like mother, like daughter.’You are a true daughter of your mother. She hated her husband and children. And you are a true sister of your sisters. They hated their husbands and children. Your mother was a Hittite. Your father was an Amorite.Your older sister was Samaria. She lived north of you with her daughters. Your younger sister was Sodom. She lived south of you with her daughters.You lived exactly the way they did. You copied their evil practices. I hate those practices. Everything you did was so sinful that you soon became even worse than they were.Your sister Sodom and her daughters never did what you and your daughters have done. And that is just as sure as I am alive,” announces the Lord and King.“ Here is the sin your sister Sodom committed. She and her daughters were proud. They ate too much. They were not concerned about others. They did not help those who were poor and in need.They were very proud. They did many things that were evil in my eyes. I hated those things. So I got rid of Sodom and her daughters, just as you have seen.Samaria did not commit half the sins you did. You sinned even more than they did. I hate those sins. Compared to what you did, you made your sisters seem godly.So you will be dishonored. You have given your sisters an excuse for what they did. Your sins were far worse than theirs. In fact, your sisters appear to be more godly than you. So then, be ashamed. You will be dishonored. You have made them appear to be godly.“ I will not only give you back what you had before. I will also do the same thing for Sodom and her daughters. And I will do the same for Samaria and her daughters.That will make you feel dishonored. You will be ashamed of everything you have done. You have made them feel better because you sinned more and were punished more than they were.Your sisters Sodom and Samaria and their daughters will return to what they were before. And you and your daughters will return to what you were before.In the past you would not even mention your sister Sodom. You were proud at that time.That was before your sin was uncovered. Now the daughters of Edom make fun of you. So do all her neighbors and the daughters of the Philistines. Everyone who lives around you hates you.You will be punished for your impure conduct. I will also punish you for the other evil things you have done. I hate all those things,” announces the Lord.The Lord and King says,“ I will punish you in keeping with what you have done. I sealed with a promise the covenant I made with you. You hated that promise. And you broke my covenant.But I will remember my covenant with you. I made it with you when you were young. Now I will make a new covenant with you. It will last forever.Then you will remember how you have lived. You will be ashamed when I give you Samaria and Sodom. Samaria is your older sister. Sodom is your younger one. I will give them and their daughters to you as daughters. That can’t happen based on my old covenant with you.So I will make my new covenant with you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.I will pay for all the sins you have committed. Then you will remember what you have done. You will be ashamed of it. Because of your shame, you will never speak against me again,” announces the Lord and King.

Once again the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They served gods that were named Baal. They served female gods that were named Ashtoreth. They worshiped the gods of Aram and Sidon. They served the gods of Moab and Ammon. They also worshiped the gods of the Philistines. The Israelites deserted the Lord. They didn’t serve him anymore.

Don’t be like your parents and the rest of your people. They weren’t faithful to the Lord, the God of their people. That’s why he punished them. He made them look so bad that everyone was shocked when they saw them. You can see it for yourselves.

Earth, pay attention. I am going to bring trouble on them. I will punish them because of the evil things they have done. They have not listened to my words. They have said no to my law.

“ But they didn’t obey you. Instead, they turned against you. They turned their backs on your law. They killed your prophets. The prophets had warned them to return to you. But they did very evil things that dishonored you.

“ People of Judah, I have also appointed a time for you to be destroyed.“ I would like to bless my people with great success again.

I had not made godly people sad. But when you told them lies, you made them lose all hope. You advised sinful people not to turn from their evil ways. You did not want them to save their lives.

“ The days are coming when I will judge people,” announces the Lord.“ I will punish all those who are circumcised only in their bodies.That includes the people of Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon and Moab. It also includes all those who live in the desert in places far away. None of the people in these nations is really circumcised. And not even the people of Israel are circumcised in their hearts.”

You have looked down on the holy things that were set apart to me. You have misused my Sabbath days.

And that’s not all. The people and all the leaders of the priests became more and more unfaithful. They followed all the practices of the nations. The Lord hated those practices. The people and leaders made the Lord’ s temple“ unclean.” The Lord had set the temple in Jerusalem apart in a special way for himself.The Lord, the God of Israel, sent word to his people through his messengers. He sent it to them again and again. He took pity on his people. He also took pity on the temple where he lived.But God’s people made fun of his messengers. They hated his words. They laughed at his prophets. Finally the Lord’ s great anger was stirred up against his people. Nothing could save them.The Lord brought the king of the Babylonians against them. The Babylonian army killed their young people with their swords at the temple. They didn’t spare young men or young women. They didn’t spare the old people or weak people either. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar.

“ Among the prophets of Samaria I saw something I can’t stand. They were prophesying in the name of Baal. They were leading my people Israel astray.I have also seen something horrible among Jerusalem’s prophets. They are not faithful to me. They are not living by the truth. They strengthen the hands of those who do evil. So not one of them turns from their sinful ways. All of them are like the people of Sodom to me. They are just like the people of Gomorrah.”So the Lord who rules over all speaks about the prophets. He says,“ I will make them eat bitter food. I will make them drink poisoned water. The prophets of Jerusalem have spread their ungodly ways all through the land.”

“ Her sister Oholibah saw it. But her evil desire for sexual sin was worse than her sister’s.She too longed for the men of Assyria. They included governors and commanders. They included soldiers who wore fancy uniforms. They also included men who rode horses. All of them were young and handsome.I saw that she too made herself impure. So both sisters did the same evil things.“ But Oholibah went even further with her sexual sins. She saw pictures of men drawn on a wall. They were figures of Babylonians drawn in red.They had belts around their waists. They wore flowing turbans on their heads. All of them looked like Babylonian chariot officers. They were from the land of the Chaldeans.As soon as she saw the pictures, she longed for the men. So she sent messengers to them in Babylon.Then the Babylonians came to her. They went to bed with her. They had sex with her. They made her impure when they had sex with her. After they did it, she became sick of them. So she turned away from them.She acted like a prostitute who had no shame at all. She openly showed her naked body. I became sick of what she was doing. So I turned away from her. I had also turned away from her sister.But Oholibah offered her body to her lovers again and again. She remembered the days when she was a young prostitute in Egypt.There she had longed for her lovers. Their private parts seemed as big as those of donkeys. And their flow of semen appeared to be as much as that of horses.So you wanted to return to the days when you were young. You longed for the time when you first became impure in Egypt. That was when you allowed your breasts to be kissed. And you permitted your young breasts to be touched.”

But you have done more evil things than they did. All of you are doing what your stubborn and evil hearts want you to do. You are not obeying me.

That’s as foolish as eating ashes! The mind of someone like that has led him astray. He can’t save himself. He can’t bring himself to say,“ This thing I’m holding in my right hand isn’t really a god at all.”

“ I have heard what the prophets are saying. They prophesy lies in my name. They say,‘ I had a dream! The Lord has given me a dream!’How long will that continue in the hearts of these prophets who tell lies? They try to get others to believe their own mistaken ideas.They tell one another their dreams. They think that will make my people forget my name. In the same way, their people of long ago forgot my name when they worshiped Baal.Let the prophet who has a dream describe the dream. But let the one who has my message speak it faithfully. Your prophets have given you straw to eat instead of grain,” announces the Lord.“ My message is like fire,” announces the Lord.“ It is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces.“ So I am against these prophets,” announces the Lord.“ I am against those who steal messages from one another. They claim that the messages come from me.Yes,” announces the Lord.“ I am against the prophets who speak their own words. But they still say,‘ Here is what the Lord says.’I am against prophets who talk about dreams that did not come from me,” announces the Lord.“ They tell foolish lies. Their lies lead my people astray. But I did not send these prophets. I did not appoint them. They do not help my people in the least,” announces the Lord.

You were set free from an empty way of life. This way of life was handed down to you by your own people of long ago. You know that you were not bought with things that can pass away, like silver or gold.

Suppose someone refuses to accept our teaching. They are not turning their back on us. They are turning their back on God. This same God gives you his Holy Spirit.

The Lord spoke to Moses. He said,“ You are going to join the members of your family who have already died. The Israelites will not be faithful to me. They will soon join themselves to the false gods that are worshiped in the land they are entering. The people will desert me. They will break the covenant I made with them.In that day I will become angry with them. I will desert them. I will turn my face away from them. And they will be destroyed. Many horrible troubles and hard times will come on them. On that day they will say,‘ Trouble has come on us. Our God isn’t with us!’I will certainly turn away from them on that day. I will do it because they did a very evil thing when they turned to other gods.

The prophets cover up these acts for them. The visions of these prophets are false. They use magic to try to find out what is going to happen. But their magic tricks are lies. They say,‘ The Lord and King says.’ But I have not spoken to them.

Why did you turn your back on what I told you to do? You did what is evil in my sight. You made sure that Uriah, the Hittite, would be killed in battle. You took his wife to be your own. You let the men of Ammon kill him with their swords.So time after time members of your own royal house will be killed with swords. That’s because you turned your back on me. You took the wife of Uriah, the Hittite, to be your own.’

The Lord said to me,“ Speak to the Israelites. Tell them,‘ Here is what the Lord and King says.“ Are you going to make yourselves‘ unclean’ the way your people of long ago did? Are you also going to want to worship the statues of their evil gods?

We have sinned and done what is wrong. We have been evil. We have refused to obey you. We have turned away from your commands and laws.We haven’t listened to your servants the prophets. They spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our people of long ago. They also brought your message to all our people in the land.“ Lord, you always do what is right. But we are covered with shame today. We are the people of Judah and Jerusalem. All of us are Israelites, no matter where we live. We are now living in many countries. You scattered us among the nations because we weren’t faithful to you.Lord, we are covered with shame. So are our kings and princes, and our people of long ago. We have sinned against you.You are the Lord our God. You show us your tender love. You forgive us. But we have turned against you.You are the Lord our God. But we haven’t obeyed you. We haven’t kept the laws you gave us through your servants the prophets.All the people of Israel have broken your law and turned away from it. They have refused to obey you.“ Curses and warnings are written down in the Law of Moses. He was your servant. Those curses have been poured out on us. That’s because we have sinned against you.The warnings you gave us and our rulers have come true. You have brought great trouble on us. Nothing like what has been done to Jerusalem has ever happened anywhere else on earth.

Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke to the false prophet Hananiah. Jeremiah said,“ Listen, Hananiah! The Lord hasn’t sent you. But you have tricked these people. Now they trust in lies.So the Lord says,‘ I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. Before this year is over, you will die. You have taught the people to turn against me.’ ”

They will lie outside under the sun, moon and all the stars. All these people had loved and served these things. They had followed them and worshiped them. They had asked them for advice. So the bones of these people will not be gathered up or buried again. Instead, they will be like human waste lying there on the ground.

When Israel grew fat, they became stubborn. When they were filled with food, they became fat and heavy. They left the God who made them. They turned away from the Rock who saved them.They made him jealous by serving false gods. They made him angry by worshiping statues of gods. He hated those gods.The people sacrificed to those false gods, not to God. They hadn’t known anything about those false gods. Those gods were new to them. Their people of long ago didn’t worship them.But then they deserted the Rock. He was their Father. They forgot the God who created them.When the Lord saw this, he turned away from them. His sons and daughters made him angry.“ I will turn my face away from them,” he said.“ I will see what will happen to them in the end. They are sinful people. They are unfaithful children.They made me jealous by serving what is not even a god. They made me angry by worshiping worthless statues of gods. I will use people who are not a nation to make them jealous. A nation that has no understanding will make them angry.My anger will start a fire. It will burn all the way down to the kingdom of the dead. It will eat up the earth and its crops. It will set the base of the mountains on fire.“ I will pile troubles on my people. I will shoot all my arrows at them.I will send them hunger. It will make them weak. I will send terrible sickness. I will send deadly plagues. I will send wild animals that will tear them apart. Snakes that glide through the dust will bite them.In the streets their children will be killed by swords. Their homes will be filled with terror. The young men and women will die. The babies and old people will die.I said I would scatter them. I said I would erase their name from human memory.But I was afraid their enemies would make fun of that. I was afraid their attackers would not understand. I was sure they would say,‘ We’re the ones who’ve beaten them! The Lord isn’t the one who did it.’ ”

The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They served gods that were named Baal.They deserted the Lord, the God of their people. He had brought them out of Egypt. But now the Israelites served other gods and worshiped them. They served the gods of the nations that were around them. They made the Lord angrybecause they deserted him. They served Baal. They also served female gods that were named Ashtoreth.The Lord became angry with the Israelites. So he handed them over to robbers. The robbers stole everything from them. The Lord handed the Israelites over to their enemies all around them. Israel wasn’t able to fight against them anymore and win.When the Israelites went out to fight, the Lord’ s power was against them. He let their enemies win the battle over them. The Lord had warned them that it would happen. And now they were suffering terribly.Then the Lord gave them leaders. The leaders saved them from the power of those robbers.But the people wouldn’t listen to their leaders. They weren’t faithful to the Lord. They served other gods and worshiped them. They didn’t obey the Lord’ s commands as their people before them had done. They quickly turned away from the path their people had taken.When the Lord gave them a leader, he was with that leader. The Lord saved the people from the power of their enemies. He did it as long as the leader lived. The Lord felt very sorry for the people. They groaned because of what their enemies did to them. Their enemies treated them badly.But when the leader died, the people returned to their evil ways. The things they did were even more sinful than the things their people before them had done. They served other gods and worshiped them. They refused to give up their evil practices. They wouldn’t change their stubborn ways.So the Lord became very angry with the Israelites. He said,“ This nation has broken my covenant. I made it with their people of long ago. But this nation has not listened to me.

I will be like a moth to Ephraim. I will cause Judah to rot away.“ The people of Ephraim saw how sick they were. The people of Judah saw that they were wounded. Then Ephraim turned to Assyria for help. They sent gifts to the great King Tiglath- Pileser. But he is not able to make you well. He can’t heal your wounds.

“ You warned them so that they would obey your law again. But they became proud. They didn’t obey your commands. They sinned against your rules. You said,‘ Anyone who obeys my rules will live by them.’ But the people didn’t care about that. They turned their backs on you. They became very stubborn. They refused to listen to you.For many years you put up with them. By your Spirit you warned them through your prophets. In spite of that, they didn’t pay any attention. So you handed them over to the nations that were around them.