So those poor people begin thinking,\par “God has forgotten us!\par He has turned away from us forever!\par God doesn’t see what is happening to us!”\par
They have hidden their traps.\par They are looking for victims. {\cf2\super [373]} \par (People can be very tricky.\par It is hard to know\par what people are thinking.)\par
Sometimes people are not immediately punished for the bad things they do. Their punishment is slow to come. And that makes other people want to do bad things too.
Then \{God\} said to me, “Son of man, {\cf2\super [67]} do you see what the elders of Israel do in the dark? Each man has a special room for his own false god! Those men say to themselves, ‘The Lord can’t see us. The Lord left this country.’”
\{God\} said, “The family of Israel and Judah have done many, many very bad sins! People are being murdered everywhere in this country. And this city is filled with crime. Why? Because the people say to themselves, ‘The Lord left this country. He can’t see the things we are doing.’
The Pharisee that asked Jesus to come to his house saw this. He thought to himself, “If this man (Jesus) were a prophet, {\cf2\super [143]} he would know that the woman who is touching him is a sinner!”