I only wanted to change their way of thinking—I wanted them to respect me and obey all my commands from the heart! Then everything would be fine with them and with their descendants [33] forever.
Lord, you are the God of our ancestors,\par Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. {\cf2\super [324]} \par Please help your people plan the right things.\par Help them be loyal and true to you!\par
If you had obeyed me,\par then peace would have come to you\par like a full flowing river.\par Good things would have come to you\par again and again,\par like the waves of the sea.\par
It does not matter if we like the message or if we don’t like the message. We will obey the Lord our God. We are sending you to the Lord for a message from him. We will obey what he says. Then good things will happen to us. Yes, we will obey the Lord our God.”
I sent my prophets to those people again and again. Those prophets were my servants. Those prophets spoke my message and said to the people, ‘Don’t do this terrible thing. I hate for you to worship idols.’
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets. {\cf2\super [361]} You kill with rocks those men that God sent to you. Many, many times I wanted to help your people. I wanted to gather your people together like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you did not let me.
“Now, people of Israel, listen! What does the Lord your God really want from you? The Lord wants you to respect him and do what he says. God wants you to love him and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Be careful to obey all the commands that I give you. When you do the things that are good and right—the things that please the Lord your God—then everything will go well for you and for your descendants [84] forever.
You must not feel sorry for him. He was guilty of killing an innocent person. You must remove that guilt from Israel. Then everything will go well for you.
You may take the babies for yourself. But you must let the mother go. If you obey these laws, then things will go well for you, and you will live a long time.
Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Mount Horeb (Sinai). The Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people together to listen to the things I say. Then they will learn to respect me as long as they live on earth. And they will teach these things to their children.’
You must not add to the things that I command you. And you must not take anything away. You must obey the commands of the Lord your God that I have given you.
And you must obey his laws and commands that I give you today. Then everything will go well with you and your children who live after you. And you will live a long time in the land the Lord your God is giving you—it will be yours forever!”
“You must honor (respect) your father and your mother. The Lord your God has commanded you to do this. If you follow this command, then you will live a long time, and everything will go well for you in the land that the Lord your God gives you.
You must live the way the Lord your God commanded you. Then you will continue to live, and everything will be fine with you. You will live a long life in the land that will belong to you.
You must do the things that are right and good—things that please the Lord. Then everything will go well for you, and you can go in and take the good land that the Lord promised your ancestors. [38]
People of Israel, listen carefully and obey these laws. Then everything will be fine with you. You will have many children, and you will get the land filled with many good things [35] —just like the Lord, the God of your ancestors, [36] promised.
Be careful and don’t refuse to listen when God speaks. Those people (Israelites) refused to listen to him when he warned them on earth. And those people did not escape. Now God is speaking from heaven. So now it will be worse for those people who refuse to listen to him.
But you must not be like that. You must carefully study God’s perfect law that makes people free. You must continue to study it. You must listen to God’s teaching and not forget what you heard. Then you must obey what God’s teaching says. When you do this, it will make you truely happy.
“Those people who washed their robes {\cf2\super [174]} will be blessed. They will have the right to \{eat the food from\} the tree of life. They can go through the gates into the city.