"And justas He calledand they would not listen,sothey calledand I would not listen,"saysthe LORDof hosts;
"Whenthey fast,I am not going to listento their cry;and whenthey offerburntofferingand grain offering,I am not going to acceptthem. RatherI am going to makean endof them by the sword,famineand pestilence."
"So when you spreadout your hands[in prayer], I will hideMy eyesfrom you; Yes,eventhoughyou multiplyprayers,I will not listen.Your handsare coveredwith blood.
Thereforethussaysthe LORD,"BeholdI am bringingdisasteron them whichthey will not be ableto escape;though they will cryto Me, yet I will not listento them.
Thenthey will cryout to the LORD,But He will not answerthem. Instead, He will hideHis facefrom them at that timeBecausethey have practicedevildeeds.
You askand do not receive,becauseyou askwith wrong motives,sothat you may spend[it] on your pleasures.
"Oncethe head of the housegetsup and shutsthe door,and you beginto standoutsideand knockon the door,saying,Lord,openup to us!' thenHe will answerand sayto you, 'I do not knowwhereyou are from.'
"Sonof man,speakto the eldersof Israeland sayto them, 'Thussaysthe LordGOD,"Do you cometo inquireof Me? As I live,"declaresthe LordGOD,"I will not be inquiredof by you."'
"Sonof man,thesemenhave setup their idolsin their heartsand have putrightbeforetheir facesthe stumblingblockof their iniquity.Should I be consultedby them at all?
"Whywas therenomanwhen I came?When I called,[why] was therenoneto answer?Is My handsoshortthat it cannotransom?OrhaveI nopowerto deliver?Behold,I dryup the seawith My rebuke,I makethe riversa wilderness;Their fishstinkfor lackof waterAnd dieof thirst.
He who turnsawayhis earfrom listeningto the law,Evenhis prayeris an abomination.
He who shutshis earto the cryof the poorWill alsocryhimselfand not be answered.
"You shall speakallthesewordsto them, but they will not listento you; and you shall callto them, but they will not answeryou.
"They have turnedbackto the iniquitiesof their ancestorswhorefusedto hearMy words,and they have goneafterothergodsto servethem; the houseof Israeland the houseof Judahhave brokenMy covenantwhichI madewith their fathers."
"Therefore do not prayfor thispeople,norliftup a cryor prayerfor them; for I will not listenwhenthey callto Me becauseof their disaster.
"JudahmournsAnd her gateslanguish;They siton the groundin mourning,And the cryof Jerusalemhas ascended.
You have coveredYourself with a cloudSothat noprayercan passthrough.
"Therefore, I indeedwill dealin wrath.My eyewill havenopitynorwill I spare;and though they cryin My earswith a loudvoice,yet I will not listento them."
