4. The Lord sent all His servants the prophets to you time and time again, but you have not obeyed or even paid attention.
5. He announced, ‘Turn, each of you, from your evil way of life and from your evil deeds. Live in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors long ago and forever.
6. Do not follow other gods to serve them and to worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger by the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.
7. “ ‘But you would not obey Me’ — this is the Lord’s declaration — ‘in order that you might provoke Me to anger by the work of your hands and bring disaster on yourselves.’
8. “Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts says: ‘Because you have not obeyed My words,
9. I am going to send for all the families of the north’ — this is the Lord’s declaration — ‘and send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will bring them against this land, against its residents, and against all these surrounding nations, and I will completely destroy them and make them a desolation, a derision, and ruins forever.
10. I will eliminate the sound of joy and gladness from them — the voice of the groom and the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp.
11. This whole land will become a desolate ruin, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for 70 years.
12. When the 70 years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation’ — this is the Lord’s declaration — ‘the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, and I will make it a ruin forever.
13. I will bring on that land all My words I have spoken against it, all that is written in this book that Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations.
14. For many nations and great kings will enslave them, and I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.’ ”
15. This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and make all the nations I am sending you to, drink from it.
16. They will drink, stagger, and go out of their minds because of the sword I am sending among them.”
17. So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations drink from it, everyone the Lord sent me to.
18. These included:Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah, its kings and its officials, to make them a desolate ruin, an object of scorn and cursing — as it is today;
19. Pharaoh king of Egypt, his officers, his leaders, all his people,
20. and all the mixed peoples;all the kings of the land of Uz;all the kings of the land of the Philistines — Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;