The summary of Jeremiah’s sermon ends with the words and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.
People will speak ill of Jerusalem because of the disaster that the Lord will bring on them. To speak of Jerusalem in this way is the total opposite of how the people of Judah viewed the city. They saw the city, with the temple in the centre, as a source of blessing.1 They were not wrong to think this way. The covenant the Lord made with them said not only that Israel would be blessed by the Lord but that through them he would bring blessings to the world. What they were ignoring, however, were the warnings of blessings turning to curse if Israel was unfaithful.
6 alors je traiterai cette maison comme Silo, et je ferai de cette ville un objet de malédiction pour toutes les nations de la terre.