²⁴ People from the surrounding nations will say, “But why did the Eternal do this to this land? Why did He get so furiously angry?” ²⁵ And bystanders will answer, “Because they abandoned the covenant the Eternal, the God of their ancestors, made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. ²⁶ They went and worshiped other gods. They bowed down to gods they’d never known that He didn’t allow them to worship.