“Take courage!
My people!
You perpetuate
Israel’s name!
It was not
For destruction
That you were sold
To the nations.
But you were handed over
To your enemies
Because you angered
God.
You provoked the one
Who made you!
You sacrificed to demons,
Not to God!
You forgot
The everlasting God,
Who brought you up!
You grieved Jerusalem,
Who reared you.”
This reminder for Israel was for the people to have courage, since they were going to perpetuate the name of Israel. These Israelites had been sold to various nations, not to destroy them, but to punish them. They had been handed over to their enemies, because they had angered God. They had provoked their creator by sacrificing to demons, and not God. They had forgotten their everlasting God who brought them up. There was no mention of the name of Yahweh here. They had grieved Jerusalem, the city that had reared them. Once again there is a personification of Jerusalem that can feel pain.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 