3. Lord, I know that you want people to be loyal to you. You hit the people of Judah, but they did not feel any pain. You destroyed them, but they refused to learn their lesson. They became very stubborn. They refused to be sorry for the bad things they did.
4. But I said to myself, “It must be only the poor who are so foolish. They have not learned the way of the Lord. They don’t know the teachings of their God.
5. So I will go to the leaders of Judah. I will talk to them. Surely the leaders know the way of the Lord. Surely they know the law of their God.” But the leaders had all joined together to break away from serving God.
6. So a lion from the forest will attack them. A wolf from the desert will kill them. A leopard is hiding near their cities, to tear to pieces anyone who comes out. That’s because the people have sinned again and again. Many times they have wandered away from God.
7. God says, “People of Judah, why should I forgive you? Your children have abandoned me. They made promises to idols that are not really gods! I gave your children everything they needed, but they were still unfaithful to me! They spent their time with prostitutes.
8. They are like horses that have had plenty to eat and are ready to mate. They are like a horse that is calling its neighbor’s wife.
9. Should I punish the people of Judah for doing these things?” This message is from the Lord. “You know I should punish a nation such as this. I should give it the punishment it deserves.
10. “Go along the rows of Judah’s grapevines. Cut down the vines. (But don’t completely destroy them.) Cut off all their branches, because they don’t belong to the Lord.
11. The family of Israel and the family of Judah have been unfaithful to me in every way.” This message is from the Lord.
12. “Those people lied about the Lord. They said, ‘He will not do anything to us. Nothing bad will happen to us. We will never see an army attack us. We will never starve.’
13. The prophets are only empty wind. The word of God is not in them. Bad things will happen to them.”
14. The Lord God All-Powerful said these things: “The people said I would not punish them. So, Jeremiah, the words I give you will be like fire, and these people will be like wood. That fire will burn them up completely.”
15. Family of Israel, this message is from the Lord. “I will soon bring a nation from far away to attack you. It is an old nation; it is an ancient nation. The people of that nation speak a language that you do not know. You cannot understand what they say.
16. Their arrow bags are like open graves. All their men are strong soldiers.
17. They will eat all the crops that you gathered. They will eat all your food. They will destroy your sons and daughters. They will eat your flocks and your herds. They will eat your grapes and your figs. They will destroy your strong cities with their swords. They will destroy the strong cities that you trust in.”
18. This message is from the Lord: “But, Judah, when these terrible days come, I will not fully destroy you.