The Jewish leaders claimed to serve God and that Jerusalem was their holy city, but it was in Jerusalem that their ancestors had killed many of God's prophets, and Jesus knew that they would kill him there also. This can be stated in positive terms. Alternate translation: "it is only in Jerusalem that it is acceptable for prophets to be destroyed" or "even though you think you are serving God and Jerusalem is your holy city, you disobey God by killing his prophets, and in doing so you defile Jerusalem" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-irony]] and [[:en:ta:vol2:translate:figs_doublenegatives]])