²⁸So the Lord says, “I am about to hand this city over to the armies of Babylonia. I will give it to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia. He will capture it. ²⁹The armies of Babylonia are now attacking this city. They will come in and set it on fire. They will burn it down. They will burn up the houses where the people made me very angry. They burned incense on their roofs to the god Baal. And they poured out drink offerings to other gods.

³⁰“The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight. They have done it since the nation was young. In fact, they have done nothing but make me very angry. They have worshiped statues of gods their own hands have made,” announces the Lord. ³¹“This city has always stirred up my burning anger. It has done it since the day it was built. Now I must remove it from my sight.

³²“The people of Israel and Judah have made me very angry. They have done many evil things. They, their kings and officials have sinned. So have their priests and prophets. And the people of Judah and Jerusalem have also sinned. ³³They turned their backs to me. They would not face me. I taught them again and again. But they would not listen or pay attention when they were corrected.

³⁴“They set up statues of their gods. They did it in the house where I have put my Name. They made my house ‘unclean.’ I hate those statues.

³⁵“The people built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. That is where they sacrifice their children to Molech in the fire. That is something I did not command. It did not even enter my mind. They did something I hate. They made Judah sin.”

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