6. Jeremiah, you live in the middle of evil.And lies follow lies.The people have refused to know me,” says the Lord.
7. So this is what the Lord of heaven’s armies says:“I will test the people of Judah as a person tests metal in a fire.I have no other choice.My people have sinned.
8. Their tongues are like sharp arrows.Their mouths speak lies.Everyone speaks nicely to his neighbor.But he is secretly planning to attack him.
9. Shouldn’t I punish the people for doing this?” says the Lord.“Shouldn’t I give them the punishment they deserve?”
10. I, Jeremiah, will cry loudly for the mountains.I will sing a funeral song for the empty fields.They are empty, and no one passes through.The mooing of cattle cannot be heard.The birds have flown away,and the animals are gone.
11. “I, the Lord, will make the city of Jerusalem a heap of ruins.It will become a home for wild dogs.I will destroy the cities in the land of Judahso no one can live there.”
12. What man is wise enough to understand these things? Is there someone who has been taught by the Lord who can explain them? Why was the land ruined? Why has it been made like an empty desert where no one goes?
13. The Lord answered, “It is because Judah quit following my teachings that I gave them. They have not obeyed me. They have not done what I told them to do.
14. Instead, the people of Judah were stubborn. They followed the false god Baal. Their fathers taught them to do this!”