This entire disaster happened to us, exactly as it was written in Moses’ Teachings. Lord our God, we never tried to gain your favor by turning from our wrongs and dedicating ourselves to your truth.
‘This is what the Lord says: I’m going to bring disaster on this place and on the people living here according to everything written in the book that the king of Judah has read.
How horrible it will be for those who go to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who depend on many chariots, who depend on very strong war horses. They don’t look to the Holy One of Israel. They don’t seek the Lord.
We’ve all become unclean, and all our righteous acts are like permanently stained rags. All of us shrivel like leaves, and our sins carry us away like the wind.
All your lovers have forgotten you, and they don’t want you anymore. I’ve punished you as an enemy would. I’ve corrected you as a cruel person would. You are very wicked, and you have many sins.
“I have certainly heard Ephraim mourn and say, ‘You disciplined me, and I was disciplined. I was like a young, untrained calf. Turn me, and I will be turned, because you are the Lord my God.
You burned incense as offerings to other gods, sinned against the Lord, and wouldn’t obey him. You didn’t live by his teachings, decrees, or written instructions. That is why you have met with this disaster as it is today.”
I am going to watch over them. I am going to watch over them to bring disasters, not blessings. In Egypt the people from Judah will die in wars and famines until everyone is gone.
Lord, your eyes look for the truth. You strike these people, but they don’t feel it. You crush them, but they refuse to be corrected. They are more stubborn than rocks. They refuse to turn back.
“ ‘You didn’t remember the time when you were young, and you made me very angry with all these things. So I will pay you back for what you have done, declares the Almighty Lord. Didn’t you make wicked plans in addition to all your disgusting practices?
All Israel has ignored your teachings and refused to listen to you. So you brought on us the curses you swore in an oath, the curses written in the Teachings of your servant Moses. We sinned against you.
They don’t pray to me sincerely, even though they cry in their beds and make cuts on their bodies while praying for grain and new wine. They have turned against me.
If any of you needs wisdom to know what you should do, you should ask God, and he will give it to you. God is generous to everyone and doesn’t find fault with them.