The cause of desolation

20Then Jeremiah said to all the people—to the men, to the women, and to all the people who were answering him, saying,

21Was it not the incense that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem—you and your fathers, your kings and your officials, and the people of the land—that Yahweh remembered, and it came up upon his heart?

22And Yahweh could no longer bear it because of the evil of your deeds, because of the abominations that you committed. So your land became a ruin, a desolation, and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day.

23Because you burned incense and sinned against Yahweh, and did not listen to the voice of Yahweh or walk in his law, his statutes, and his testimonies, therefore this disaster has come upon you, as it is this day.