The law says we are under a curse for not always obeying it. But Christ took away that curse. He changed places with us and put himself under that curse. The Scriptures say, “Anyone who is hung on a tree is under a curse.”
Your sins were like a big cloud, but I wiped them all away. Your sins are gone, like a cloud that disappeared into thin air. I rescued and protected you, so come back to me.”
There will be no dangers on that road. There will be no lions there to hurt people or any dangerous animals on it. That road will be for the people God saves.
His people will be called “The Holy People,” “The Saved People of the Lord.” And you, Jerusalem, will be called “The City God Wants,” “The City God Is With.”
But the Lord brought you out of Egypt with great power and made you free from slavery. He freed you from the control of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. The Lord did this because he loves you and he wanted to keep the promise he made to your ancestors.
We were hoping that he would be the one to free Israel. But then all this happened. “And now something else: It has been three days since he was killed,
Cry out, you people of Jerusalem, and feel the pain, as if you were giving birth. You must go out of the city and live in the fields. You will go away to Babylon, but you will also be saved from that place. The Lord will come and rescue you there. He will take you away from your enemies.