IN THE time of the prophet Jeremiah there was a moral breakdown among the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the land of Judah. The priests and the false prophets only added to the problem. The word of Jehovah through Jeremiah was: “From the least one of them even to the greatest one of them, every one is making for himself unjust gain; and from the prophet even to the priest, each one is acting falsely.

Jer. 6:13, 14.

Corruption existed among all​—from the least to the greatest. The people were concerned about their own interests, not those of others. They did whatever might bring the greatest profit to them. Those who should have been teaching the people were dishonest.