16. “After I had given the copies to Baruch, son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord. I prayed,
17. ‘Almighty Lord, you made heaven and earth by your great strength and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you.
18. You show mercy to thousands of generations. However, you punish children for the wickedness of their parents. You, God, are great and mighty. Your name is the Lord of Armies.
19. You make wise plans and do mighty things. You see everything the descendants of Adam do. You reward them for the way they live and for what they do.
20. You performed miraculous signs and amazing things in Egypt. To this day you are still doing them in Israel. You made a name for yourself that continues to this day.
21. You brought your people from Egypt with miraculous signs and amazing things, with a mighty hand and a powerful arm, and with great terror.
22. You gave them the land that you swore with an oath to give their ancestors, the land flowing with milk and honey.
23. They entered and took possession of it. However, they refused to obey you or to follow your teachings. They didn’t do anything you commanded them to do, so you brought all this disaster on them.
24. “‘See how the dirt ramps have been built up around the city to capture it! Because of wars, famines, and plagues, the city will be handed over to the Babylonians who are attacking it. What you have threatened to do has happened, as you can see.