ירמיהו, פרק ה׳, פסוק י״ט

Looking ahead to the era of exile, a time is anticipated when the people will finally open their eyes to their reality. Having faced tremendous hardship, they will recognize their punishment and actively seek to understand the underlying reasons for the tragedies that have befallen them [רד״ק, מלבי״ם].

God directs the prophet Jeremiah on exactly how to respond to the questions of these future exiles [רד״ק]. When the people ask for the specific reason behind the killing and exile they have suffered, they are searching for the exact logic of their punishment [מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The answer rests entirely on the principle of measure for measure [מלבי״ם]. There is a perfect parallel between the sin committed and the resulting penalty. Just as the people abandoned God and chose to worship foreign gods while living comfortably in their own land, they will in turn be abandoned by God and forced to serve foreign nations in an unfamiliar land [מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון].

This parallel works on multiple levels to highlight the exactness of the consequence. The people lived in a land under God's direct care, yet they willingly and eagerly submitted themselves to foreign gods. Therefore, the most fitting penalty is physical enslavement to a foreign nation in a different land [מלבי״ם]. Furthermore, because the people chose to worship foreign powers specifically within the Land of Israel, a place where those powers possess no actual authority, their punishment requires them to be expelled. They are sent away to the natural domains of those foreign powers, where they will truly be subjected to them [חומת אנך].