ירמיהו, פרק מ״ד, פסוק ט׳

The prophet confronts the people with a piercing rhetorical question, demanding that they look closely at the root of the disaster that has fallen upon them. When he asks if they have forgotten the past, he is not actually questioning their memory. Instead, it is a firm declaration implying that they certainly still remember the truth [מצודת דוד]. He challenges how they could possibly ignore the direct cause of the tragedy that overtook them, which was the ongoing sins and evil deeds of their ancestors, their kings, and the people themselves.

Because these terrible actions were committed openly in the city streets, they are impossible to forget, just as the people cannot deny the destructive consequences that inevitably followed [מלבי״ם]. Furthermore, when addressing the wickedness of the royal wives, the primary approach among commentators is that this does not single out one specific woman. Rather, it refers collectively to the wives of every single king of Judah. A clear example of this royal corruption is the sin of King Abijah's wife, who constructed a monstrous idol for Asherah worship [רד״ק].