Apparently the people are complaining because they are suffering for the wrongdoing of their parents. They weren鈥檛 the ones who sinned and caused the defeat of Judah, but they are the ones who have to live in captivity. God assures them he treats each person individually. God deals with everyone fairly.
There is truth in the people鈥檚 complaint. Their current circumstances have been affected by the decisions of their parents. That鈥檚 true for all of us. If you had bad parents, you suffered. If you had good ones, you benefited. But God lets them know they will each be judged by their own decisions. We each need to trust Christ for ourselves. If our parents trusted Christ, that鈥檚 great, but it doesn鈥檛 do us any good unless we follow their example. If our parents didn鈥檛 trust Christ, that鈥檚 no excuse for us not to do so for ourselves.