5 Those prophets said, “Change your lives and stop doing evil! If you change, you can return to the land that the Lord gave you and your ancestors long ago. He gave you this land to live in forever.
6 Don’t follow other gods. Don’t serve or worship them. Don’t worship idols that someone has made. That only makes me angry with you. By doing this you only hurt yourselves.”
7 “But you did not listen to me.” This message is from the Lord. “You worshiped idols that someone made, and that made me angry. And it only hurt you.”
8 So this is what the Lord All-Powerful says, “You have not listened to my messages.
9 I will soon send for all the tribes of the north.” This message is from the Lord. “I will soon send for King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He is my servant. I will bring those people against the land of Judah and against the people of Judah. I will bring them against all the nations around you too. I will destroy all those countries. I will make those lands like an empty desert forever. People will see those countries, and whistle at how badly they were destroyed.
10 I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and happiness in those places. There will be no more happy sounds of the brides and bridegrooms. I will take away the sound of people grinding meal. I will take away the light of the lamp.
11 That whole area will be an empty desert. All these people will be slaves of the king of Babylon for 70 years.