You people are not faithful to God! You should know that loving what the world has is the same as hating God. So anyone who wants to be friends with this evil world becomes God’s enemy.
“Be careful not to make any agreements with the people who live in that land. If you do this, you might join them when they worship their gods. They will invite you to join them, and you will eat their sacrifices.
You will be able to look at these tassels and remember all the commands that the Lord has given you. Then you will obey the commands. You will not do wrong by forgetting about the commands and doing the things that your own bodies and eyes want.
The Lord says, “These people come to honor me with words, but I am not really important to them. The worship they give me is nothing but human rules they have memorized.
Christ came and brought the message of peace to you non-Jews who were far away from God. And he brought that message of peace to those who were near to God.
Yes, at one time you were far away from God, but now in Christ Jesus, you are brought near to him. You are brought near to God through the blood sacrifice of Christ.
You have put these wicked people here like plants with strong roots. They grow and produce fruit. With their mouths they say that you are near and dear to them, but in their hearts they are really far away from you.
So Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of King Xerxes’ kingdom. He told the people that the festival should bring peace and make people trust each other.