The LORD was determined that the walls of Zion should fall; He measured them off to make sure of total destruction. The towers and walls now lie in ruins together.

The gates lie buried in rubble, their bars smashed to pieces. The king and the noblemen now are in exile. The Law is no longer taught, and the prophets have no visions from the LORD.

then I will remove my people Israel from the land that I have given them. I will also abandon this Temple which I have consecrated as the place where I am to be worshiped. People everywhere will ridicule Israel and treat her with contempt.

This Temple will become a pile of ruins, and everyone who passes by will be shocked and amazed. 'Why did the LORD do this to this land and this Temple?' they will ask.

Remember your people, whom you chose for yourself long ago, whom you brought out of slavery to be your own tribe. Remember Mount Zion, where once you lived.

Walk over these total ruins; our enemies have destroyed everything in the Temple.

and on the mountains in the open country. I will have your enemies take away your wealth and your treasures because of all the sins you have committed throughout your land.

Why have you said in the LORD's name that this Temple will become like Shiloh and that this city will be destroyed and no one will live in it?" Then the people crowded around me.

He burned down the Temple, the palace, and the houses of all the important people in Jerusalem;

And so, because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a pile of ruins, and the Temple hill will become a forest.

and thorn bushes and briers are growing on my people's land. Weep for all the houses where people were happy and for the city that was full of life.

Even the palace will be abandoned and the capital city totally deserted. Homes and the forts that guarded them will be in ruins forever. Wild donkeys will roam there, and sheep will find pasture there.

The LORD says, "I will make Jerusalem a pile of ruins, a place where jackals live; the cities of Judah will become a desert, a place where no one lives."