People of Jacob, this is true!\par Israel, you should believe this!\par So why do you say:\par “The Lord can’t see the way I live.\par God will not find me and punish me.”\par
Heavens and Earth, be happy!\par Mountains, shout with joy!\par Why? Because the Lord comforts his people.\par The Lord is good to his poor people.\par
\{But I say\},\par “Can a woman forget her baby? No!\par Can a woman forget the child\par that came from her body?\par No! A woman can’t forget her children.\par And I (the Lord) can’t forget you.\par
You were like a woman\par whose husband had left her.\par You were very sad in your spirit,\par but the Lord called you to be his.\par You were like a woman that married young, and her husband left her.\par But God called you to be his.\par
But you called my message a heavy load, so I will pick you up like a heavy load and throw you away from me. I gave the city of Jerusalem to your ancestors. {\cf2\super [195]} But I will throw you and that city away from me.
“So, Son of man, {\cf2\super [267]} speak to the family of Israel for me. Those people might say, ‘We have sinned and broken the law. Our sins are too heavy to bear. We rot away because of those sins. What can we do to live?’