They do one act of violence after another, and one deceitful thing after another. They refuse to pay attention to me,” says the Lord.

You people of Israel, listen to what the Lord has to say to you.

Lord, we know that people do not control their own destiny. It is not in their power to determine what will happen to them.

“Hear the terms of the covenant I made with Israel and pass them on to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem.

But after I have uprooted the people of those nations, I will relent and have pity on them. I will restore the people of each of those nations to their own lands and to their own country.

But I will completely uproot and destroy any of those nations that will not pay heed,’” says the Lord.

The Lord continued, “In every town in the land I will purge them like straw blown away by the wind. I will destroy my people. I will kill off their children. I will do so because they did not change their behavior.

I, the Lord, say: ‘That is how I will deal with this city and its citizens. I will make it like Topheth.

Then I, the Lord, promise that I will hand over King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and any of the people who survive the war, starvation, and disease. I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and to their enemies who want to kill them. He will slaughter them with the sword. He will not show them any mercy, compassion, or pity.’

The Lord told me, “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah. Give him a message from me there.

The answer will come back, “It is because they broke their covenant with the Lord their God and worshiped and served other gods.”

He upheld the cause of the poor and needy. So things went well for Judah.’ The Lord says, ‘That is a good example of what it means to know me.’

You will never come back to this land to which you will long to return!”

The Lord says, “The leaders of my people are sure to be judged. They were supposed to watch over my people like shepherds watch over their sheep. But they are causing my people to be destroyed and scattered.

I did not send those prophets. Yet they were in a hurry to give their message. I did not tell them anything. Yet they prophesied anyway.

But if they had stood in my inner circle, they would have proclaimed my message to my people. They would have caused my people to turn from their wicked ways and stop doing the evil things they are doing.

The Lord says, “I have heard what those prophets who are prophesying lies in my name are saying. They are saying, ‘I have had a dream! I have had a dream!’

So I, the Lord, affirm that I am opposed to those prophets who steal messages from one another that they claim are from me.

“Therefore, the Lord who rules over all says, ‘You have not listened to what I said.

Listen to the cries of anguish of the leaders. Listen to the wails of the shepherds of the flocks. They are wailing because the Lord is about to destroy their lands.