So please listen in heaven to their prayer. Then forgive us for our sins. Teach the people to live right. Then, Lord, please send rain to the land you gave them.
There near the Ahava River, I (Ezra) announced that we all should fast. {\cf2\super [53]} We should fast to make ourselves humble before our God. We wanted to ask God for a safe trip for ourselves, our children, and for all the things we owned.
Many people will go there. They will say, “Come! Let’s go up to the Lord’s mountain. Let’s go up to the temple of the God of Jacob. Then God will teach us his way of living. And we will follow him.”
The Lord says these things:\par “Stand at the crossroads and look.\par Ask where the old road is.\par Ask where the good road is,\par and walk on that road.\par If you do, you will find rest for yourselves.\par But you people have said,\par ‘We will not walk on the good road!’\par
People from many nations will go there.\par They will say,\par “Come, let’s go up to the Lord’s mountain.\par Let’s go to the temple of the God of Jacob.\par Then God will teach us his way of living.\par And we will follow him.”\par
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.