3
He was completely loyal to the Lord and strengthened true religion in those wicked times.
4
All the kings, except David, Hezekiah, and Josiah, were terrible sinners, because they abandoned the Law of the Most High to the very end of the kingdom.
5
They surrendered their power and honor to foreigners,
6
who set fire to the holy city and left its streets deserted, just as Jeremiah had predicted.
7
Jeremiah had been badly treated, even though he was chosen as a prophet before he was born, "to uproot and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow," but also "to build and to plant."
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.