And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land.
They profaned my holy name, when they (the heathen) said to them (the Israelites), These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth out of his land. The Israelites gave a handle of reproach to the pagan against God, who would naturally say, These who take usury, oppress, commit adultery, etc., and who in such an abject plight are "gone forth" as exiles "out of his land," are specimens of what Yahweh can or will effect for His people, and show what kind of a God this so-called holy, omnipotent, covenant-keeping God must be (Isaiah 52:5; Romans 2:24).