16. Jeremiah, don't pray for these people! I, the Lord, would refuse to listen.
17. Do you see what the people of Judah are doing in their towns and in the streets of Jerusalem?
18. Children gather firewood, their fathers build fires, and their mothers mix dough to bake bread for the goddess they call the Queen of Heaven. They even offer wine sacrifices to other gods, just to insult me.
19. But they are not only insulting me; they are also insulting themselves by doing these shameful things.
20. And now, I, the Lord All-Powerful, will flood Judah with my fiery anger until nothing is left—no people or animals, no trees or crops.
21. The Lord told me to say to the people of Judah:I am the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, but I won't accept sacrifices from you. So don't even bother bringing them to me. You might as well just cook the meat for yourselves.
22. At the time I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, I didn't command them to offer sacrifices to me.
23. Instead, I told them, “If you listen to me and do what I tell you, I will be your God, you will be my people, and all will go well for you.”
24. But your ancestors refused to listen. They were stubborn, and whenever I wanted them to go one-way, they always went the other.