⁹ And the sons of Israel ^[a]did things secretly which were not right against Yahweh their God. Moreover, they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from ^(A)watchtower to fortified city. ^10 (B)And they set for themselves sacred pillars and ^[b](C)Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree, ¹¹ and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did which Yahweh had taken away into exile before them; and they did evil things provoking Yahweh to anger. ¹² And they served idols, ^(D)concerning which Yahweh had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.” ¹³ Yet ^(E)Yahweh warned Israel and Judah ^(F)by the hand of all His prophets and ^(G)every seer, saying, “^(H)Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by the hand of My slaves the prophets.” ¹⁴ However, they did not listen, but ^(I)stiffened their neck ^[c]like their fathers, who did not believe in Yahweh their God. ^15 (J)They also rejected His statutes and ^(K)His covenant which He cut with their fathers and His warnings with which He warned them. And ^(L)they followed vanity and ^(M)became vain, and went after the nations which surrounded them, concerning which ^(N)Yahweh had commanded them not to do like them. ¹⁶ And they forsook all the commandments of Yahweh their God and made for themselves molten images, even ^(O)two calves, and ^(P)made an ^[d]Asherah and ^(Q)worshiped all the host of heaven and ^(R)served Baal. ¹⁷ Then ^(S)they made their sons and their daughters pass through the fire, and ^(T)practiced divination and omens, and ^(U)sold themselves to do what is evil in the sight of Yahweh, provoking Him to anger. ¹⁸ So Yahweh was very angry with Israel and ^(V)caused them to depart from His ^[e]presence; ^(W)none was left except the tribe of Judah alone.

¹⁹ Also ^(X)Judah did not keep the commandments of Yahweh their God, but ^(Y)walked in the statutes ^[f]which Israel had made. ²⁰ So Yahweh rejected all the seed of Israel and afflicted them and ^(Z)gave them into the hand of plunderers, until He had cast them ^[g]from His presence.

²¹ When ^(AA)He had torn Israel from the house of David, ^(AB)they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king. Then ^(AC)Jeroboam drove Israel away from following Yahweh and made them sin a great sin. ²² And the sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them ^23 (AD)until Yahweh caused Israel to depart from His presence, ^(AE)as He spoke through all His slaves the prophets. ^(AF)So Israel went into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.

^13 (A)He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar who had made him swear allegiance by God. But ^(B)he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to Yahweh, the God of Israel. ¹⁴ Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people were very unfaithful following all the abominations of the nations; and they defiled the house of Yahweh which He had set apart as holy in Jerusalem.

The Chaldeans Destroy Jerusalem

¹⁵ And Yahweh, the God of their fathers, ^(C)sent word to them ^[a]again and again by the hand of His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His habitation; ¹⁶ but they continually ^(D)mocked the messengers of God, ^(E)despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, ^(F)until the wrath of Yahweh arose against His people, until there was no remedy. ^17 (G)Therefore He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans who killed their choice men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on choice man or virgin, old man or infirm; He gave them all into his hand. ^18 (H)And all the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the king and of his officials, he brought them all to Babylon. ¹⁹ Then ^(I)they burned the house of God and tore down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles. ²⁰ And those who had escaped from the sword he ^(J)took away into exile to Babylon; and ^(K)they were slaves to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, ^21 (L)to fulfill the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah, until ^(M)the land had made up for its sabbaths. ^(N)All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath ^[b](O)until seventy years were fulfilled.