God gives Judah one last chance through Jeremiah; Nahum prophesies the fall of Ninevah; Zephaniah calls Judah to repentance or to fall: Jeremiah 5:20–6:30; Nahum 1–3; Zephaniah 1–3

Jeremiah prophesied God’s view of Jerusalem’s spiritual state: he likened the people to hunters laying in wait for their victims, refusing to provide justice to orphans and denying the rights of the poor. God asks whether he shouldn’t punish them for this, then adds more offence:

^{Jeremiah 5:30-31}A horrible and shocking thing
has happened in this land—
the prophets give false prophecies,
and the priests rule with an iron hand.
Worse yet, my people like it that way!
But what will you do when the end comes?

So he gave Jerusalem a last warning:

^{Jeremiah 6:8} Listen to this warning, Jerusalem,
or I will turn from you in disgust.
Listen, or I will turn you into a heap of ruins,
a land where no one lives.