The people of Israel refused to heed Yahweh

18 You Israeli people who have acted toward God like deaf people, listen to what Yahweh says!

“You who have been like [MET] blind people, look!

19 No people are [RHQ] as blind as my people, who should have been serving me.

No people are [RHQ] as much like [MET] deaf people as the Israelis, who should have been my messengers.

No people are [RHQ] as much like [MET] blind people as those whom I chose to serve me.

20 You see and know what are the right things to do, but you do not do them.

You hear what I say to you, but you do not pay attention.”

21 Because Yahweh is righteous,

he has honored his glorious laws.

22 But the armies of Babylon have destroyed Jerusalem and have completely ◄plundered/taken away► [DOU] all the valuable things,

and they have captured Yahweh’s people

and taken them away and put them in prison.

They have been captured easily,

because there was no one to protect them;

there was no one to say that they should be allowed to return home.

23 Who among you will listen carefully to these things?

Who will pay attention from now on?

24 Who allowed the valuable possessions of the people of Israel to be stolen [RHQ, DOU]?

It was Yahweh, because he is he one against whom we had sinned;

we did not conduct our lives like he wanted us to,

and we did not obey his laws.

25 Therefore, he was extremely angry with us,

and he caused our soldiers to be destroyed in battles.

It was as though [MET] he lit a fire around us,

but we did not understand what he was trying to tell us.

His being angry with us was like a fire that would burn us up,

but we did not pay attention [IDM].