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!”
15. So this is what the Lord of heaven’s armies, God of Israel, says: “I will soon make the people of Judah eat bitter food. I will make them drink poisoned water.
16. I will scatter them through other nations. They will live in strange nations that they and their ancestors never knew about. I will chase the people of Judah with the sword until they are all killed.”