‘Surely such is the residence of an evil man; and this is the place of one who has not known God.’”

So these three men refused to answer Job further, because he was righteous in his own eyes.

“Indeed, God does all these things, twice, three times, in his dealings with a person,

When you did these things, I was silent, so you thought I was exactly like you. But now I will condemn you and state my case against you!

These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of King Hezekiah of Judah copied:

I look, but there is no one, among them there is no one who serves as an adviser, that I might ask questions and receive answers.

Can a woman forget her baby who nurses at her breast? Can she withhold compassion from the child she has borne? Even if mothers were to forget, I could never forget you!

In light of all this, how can you still hold back, Lord? How can you be silent and continue to humiliate us?

No, a wind too strong for that will come at my bidding. Yes, even now I, myself, am calling down judgment on them.’

You will probably ask yourself, ‘Why have these things happened to me? Why have I been treated like a disgraced adulteress whose skirt has been torn off and her limbs exposed?’ It is because you have sinned so much.

So here is what the Lord has to say about Israel and Judah.

The prophet Jeremiah told all this to King Zedekiah of Judah in Jerusalem.

Then Zedekiah told Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know about the conversation we have had. If you do, you will die.

Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you arrive in Babylon, make sure you read aloud all these prophecies.

Because of this, our hearts are sick; because of these things, we can hardly see through our tears.

He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see even greater abominations than these!”

He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Take note – he gave his promise and did all these things – he will not escape!

“Suppose such a man has a violent son who sheds blood and does any of these things mentioned previously

I will do these things to you because you engaged in prostitution with the nations, polluting yourself with their idols.

Then the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things you are doing mean for us?”