¹⁵ Again and again, the Eternal God of their ancestors, because of His compassion for His people and His temple, sent messengers to His people, convicting them of the wrong doings and telling them to return to His ways, ¹⁶ but the people mocked the True God’s messengers, hated His messages, and laughed at His prophets. Their actions further infuriated the Eternal, until there was no way to contain His anger.

¹⁷ The Eternal empowered the king of the Chaldeans (who were part of the Babylonian Empire) to attack Israel. This army was merciless, sacrificing Israel’s children in their temples and slaughtering everyone else without regard to gender, age, or health.