"Also I have sentto you allMy servantsthe prophets,sending[them] againand again,saying:Turnnoweverymanfrom his evilwayand amendyour deeds,and do not goafterothergodsto worshipthem. Then you will dwellin the landwhichI have givento you and to your forefathers;but you have not inclinedyour earor listenedto Me.
"You shall havenoothergodsbeforeMe.
Yet they didnot obeyor inclinetheir ear,but walked,eachone,in the stubbornnessof his evilheart;therefore I broughton them allthe wordsof thiscovenant,whichI commanded[them] to do,but they didnot.'"
Thiswickedpeople,whorefuseto listento My words,who walkin the stubbornnessof their heartsand have goneafterothergodsto servethem and to bowdownto them, let them be just like thiswaistbandwhichis totallyworthless.
"So nowthen, speakto the menof Judahand againstthe inhabitantsof Jerusalemsaying,'Thussaysthe LORD,"Behold,I am fashioningcalamityagainstyou and devisinga planagainstyou. Ohturnback,eachof you from his evilway,and reformyour waysand your deeds."'
"For ifyou men will indeedperformthisthing,then kingswill enterthe gatesof thishouse,sittingin David'splace on his throne,ridingin chariotsand on horses,[even the king] himselfand his servantsand his people.
"But ifthey had stoodin My council,Then they would have announcedMy wordsto My people,And would have turnedthem backfrom their evilwayAnd from the evilof their deeds.
"And the LORDhas sentto you allHis servantsthe prophetsagainand again,but you have not listenednorinclinedyour earto hear,
"Nowtherefore amendyour waysand your deedsand obeythe voiceof the LORDyour God;and the LORDwill changeHis mindaboutthe misfortunewhichHe has pronouncedagainstyou.
to listento the wordsof My servantsthe prophets,whomI have been sendingto you againand again,but you have not listened;
becausethey have not listenedto My words,'declaresthe LORD,'whichI sentto them againand againby My servantsthe prophets;but you did not listen,'declaresthe LORD.
Return,O faithlesssons,'declaresthe LORD;For I am a masterto you, And I will takeyou onefrom a cityand twofrom a family,And I will bringyou to Zion.'
"They have turned[their] backto Me and not [their] face;though [I] taughtthem, teachingagainand again,they would not listenand receiveinstruction.
"At the endof sevenyearseachof you shall setfreehis Hebrewbrotherwhohas been soldto you and has servedyou sixyears,you shall sendhim out freefrom you; but your forefathersdid not obeyMe or inclinetheir earto Me.
"Perhapsthe houseof Judahwill hearallthe calamitywhichI planto bringon them, in orderthat everymanwill turnfrom his evilway;then I will forgivetheir iniquityand their sin."
"Ifyou will return,O Israel,"declaresthe LORD,"[Then] you should returnto Me. And ifyou will putawayyour detestedthingsfrom My presence,And will not waver,
Washyour heartfrom evil,O Jerusalem,That you may be saved.Howlongwill your wickedthoughtsLodgewithinyou?
"The one who listensto you listensto Me, and the one who rejectsyou rejectsMe; and he who rejectsMe rejectsthe One who sentMe."
but [kept] declaringbothto thoseof Damascusfirst,and [also] at Jerusalemand [then] throughout allthe regionof Judea,and [even] to the Gentiles,that they should repentand turnto God,performingdeedsappropriateto repentance.
by lovingthe LORDyour God,by obeyingHis voice,and by holdingfastto Him; for thisis your lifeand the lengthof your days,that you may livein the landwhichthe LORDsworeto your fathers,to Abraham,Isaac,and Jacob,to givethem."
"You shall not followothergods,anyof the godsof the peopleswhosurroundyou,
So,he who rejects[this] is not rejectingmanbut the Godwho givesHis HolySpiritto you.
