19. Then the women said, “When we lived in Judah, we worshipped the Queen of Heaven and offered sacrifices of wine and special loaves of bread shaped like her. Our husbands knew what we were doing, and they approved of it.”
20. Then I told the crowd:
21. Don't you think the Lord knew that you and your ancestors, your leaders and kings, and the rest of the people were burning incense to other gods in Jerusalem and everywhere else in Judah?
22. And when he could no longer put up with your disgusting sins, he placed a curse on your land and turned it into a desert, as it is today.
23. This disaster happened because you worshipped other gods and rebelled against the Lord by refusing to obey him or follow his laws and teachings.