# Were these not the same words ... to the west?

Yahweh uses a question to scold the people. This question can be translated as a statement. AT: "These are the same words ... to the west." (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion]])

# by the mouth of the former prophets

Here "mouth" is a metonym for the words spoken by the mouth. AT: "by the words of the former prophets" or "through the former prophets" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]])

# you still inhabited Jerusalem

"you still lived in Jerusalem"

# foothills

hills at the base of a mountain or mountain range