The men of the city, yes, even the strongest men, will be killed in war.

You will be killed in battle or dragged off as prisoners. Yet even so the LORD's anger will not be ended; his hand will still be stretched out to punish.

I will bring war on you to punish you for breaking our covenant, and if you gather in your cities for safety, I will send incurable diseases among you, and you will be forced to surrender to your enemies.

War will bring death in the streets; terrors will strike in the homes. Young men and young women will die; neither babies nor old people will be spared.

But now, LORD, let their children starve to death; let them be killed in war. Let the women lose their husbands and children; let the men die of disease and the young men be killed in battle.

So now, I, the LORD, say that you have disobeyed me; you have not given all Israelites their freedom. Very well, then, I will give you freedom: the freedom to die by war, disease, and starvation. I will make every nation in the world horrified at what I do to you.

"Or I might bring war on that country and send destructive weapons to wipe out people and animals alike,

"If I send an epidemic on that country and in my anger take many lives, killing people and animals,

This is what the Sovereign LORD is saying: "I will send my four worst punishments on Jerusalem---war, famine, wild animals, and disease---to destroy people and animals alike.

"I will punish the people of Jerusalem and of all Judah. I will destroy the last trace of the worship of Baal there, and no one will even remember the pagan priests who serve him.

I will destroy those who have turned back and no longer follow me, those who do not come to me or ask me to guide them."

The king was very angry; so he sent his soldiers, who killed those murderers and burned down their city.

"Why did my people fail to respond when I went to them to save them? Why did they not answer when I called? Am I too weak to save them? I can dry up the sea with a command and turn rivers into a desert, so that the fish in them die for lack of water.

So I will bring disaster upon them---the very things they are afraid of---because no one answered when I called or listened when I spoke. They chose to disobey me and do evil."

The LORD, the God of their ancestors, had continued to send prophets to warn his people, because he wanted to spare them and the Temple.

But they made fun of God's messengers, ignoring his words and laughing at his prophets, until at last the LORD's anger against his people was so great that there was no escape.

I have been calling you, inviting you to come, but you would not listen. You paid no attention to me.

So when you get into trouble, I will laugh at you. I will make fun of you when terror strikes---

Then you will call for wisdom, but I will not answer. You may look for me everywhere, but you will not find me.

You have never wanted my advice or paid any attention when I corrected you.

Inexperienced people die because they reject wisdom. Stupid people are destroyed by their own lack of concern.

You have committed all these sins, and even though I spoke to you over and over again, you refused to listen. You would not answer when I called you.

This is what the LORD said through the earlier prophets at the time when Jerusalem was prosperous and filled with people and when there were many people living not only in the towns around the city but also in the southern region and in the western foothills.

"But my people stubbornly refused to listen. They closed their minds

Because they did not listen when I spoke, I did not answer when they prayed.

When the time came to gather the grapes, he sent his slaves to the tenants to receive his share of the harvest.

Again the man sent other slaves, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way.

But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the owner's son. Come on, let's kill him, and we will get his property!'

"Now, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" Jesus asked.

Jesus said to them, "Haven't you ever read what the Scriptures say? 'The stone which the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all. This was done by the Lord; what a wonderful sight it is!'

He sent his servants to tell the invited guests to come to the feast, but they did not want to come.

He came to his own country, but his own people did not receive him.

They shamelessly keep on making me angry. They offer pagan sacrifices at sacred gardens and burn incense on pagan altars.

Wash yourselves clean. Stop all this evil that I see you doing. Yes, stop doing evil

I see everything they do. Nothing is hidden from me; their sins do not escape my sight.

"The people do as they please. It's all the same to them whether they kill a bull as a sacrifice or sacrifice a human being; whether they sacrifice a lamb or break a dog's neck; whether they present a grain offering or offer pigs' blood; whether they offer incense or pray to an idol. They take pleasure in disgusting ways of worship.

So I will bring disaster upon them---the very things they are afraid of---because no one answered when I called or listened when I spoke. They chose to disobey me and do evil."

You have never had any use for knowledge and have always refused to obey the LORD.