“As for the offerings
That you made
In the towns of Judah,
In the streets of Jerusalem,
Did not Yahweh remember them?
That is you with
Your ancestors,
Your kings,
Your officials,
The people of the land,
Did it not come into his mind?
Yahweh could no longer
Bear the sight
Of your evil doings,
The abominations
That you committed.
Therefore your land
Became a desolation,
A waste,
A curse,
Without inhabitants,
As it is to this day.
It is
Because you burned offerings,
Because you sinned
Against Yahweh.
You did not obey
The voice of Yahweh.
You did not
Walk in his law,
Walk in his statutes,
Walk in his decrees.
Thus this disaster
Has befallen you,
As is still evident today.”
Jeremiah justifies the punishment that they have today, based on their idolatrous sacrifices that they, their ancestors, their kings, their officials, and all the people had made earlier in Judah and Jerusalem. Did they think that Yahweh, their God, would forget this? Yahweh could no longer bear the sight of these evil abominations, so that he made their land desolate, a waste, and cursed, without inhabitants until the present time. They had sinned by offering these burnt sacrifices. They did not obey Yahweh. They would not follow his laws, statutes, or decrees. Thus this disaster has come upon them until the present day. Jeremiah thought that these refugees were too defiant against Yahweh.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 