12. He sinned against the Lord and did not listen humbly to the prophet Jeremiah, who spoke the word of the Lord.
13. Zedekiah rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had forced him to swear in God's name that he would be loyal. He stubbornly refused to repent and return to the Lord, the God of Israel.
14. In addition, the leaders of Judah, the priests, and the people followed the sinful example of the nations round them in worshipping idols, and so they defiled the Temple, which the Lord himself had made holy.
15. The Lord, the God of their ancestors, had continued to send prophets to warn his people, because he wanted to spare them and the Temple.
16. But they ridiculed God's messengers, ignoring his words and laughing at his prophets, until at last the Lord's anger against his people was so great that there was no escape.
17. So the Lord brought the king of Babylonia to attack them. The king killed the young men of Judah, even in the Temple. He had no mercy on anyone, young or old, man or woman, sick or healthy. God handed them all over to him.