That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay a righteous man with a wicked man, that so the righteous man should be as the wicked man. Far be it from thee. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
LORD is righteous, for I have rebelled against his commandment. Hear, I pray you, all ye peoples, and behold my sorrow. My virgins and my young men have gone into captivity.
Thou are righteous, O LORD, when I contend with thee. Yet I would reason the case with thee. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are all those at ease who deal very treacherously?
O LORD, the God of Israel, thou are righteous, for we are left a remnant that is escaped, as it is this day. Behold, we are before thee in our guiltiness, for none can stand before thee because of this.
neither have our kings, our rulers, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened to thy commandments and thy testimonies with which thou testified against them.
because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, [and] to serve other gods, that they knew not, neither they, nor ye, nor your fathers.
and found his heart faithful before thee, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite, and the Girgashite, to give it to his seed, and have performed
and ye shall know that I am LORD. For ye have not walked in my statutes, nor have ye executed my ordinances, but have done according to the ordinances of the nations that are round about you.