All this disaster came to us just as it is written in the Teachings of Moses. But we have not pleaded with the Lord our God. We have not stopped sinning. We have not paid attention to your truth.
‘This is what the Lord says: I will bring trouble to this place and to the people living here, as it is written in the book which the king of Judah has read.
How terrible it will be for those people who go down to Egypt for help. They think horses will save them. They think their many chariots and strong horsemen will save them. But they don’t trust God, the Holy One of Israel, or ask the Lord for help.
All of us are dirty with sin. All the right things we have done are like filthy pieces of cloth. All of us are like dead leaves, and our sins, like the wind, have carried us away.
“I punished your people, but it did not help. They didn’t come back when they were punished. With your swords you killed your prophets like a hungry lion.
All those nations who were your friends have forgotten you. They don’t care about you. I have hurt you as an enemy would. I punished you very hard, because your guilt was so great and your sins were so many.
“I have heard Israel moaning: ‘Lord, you punished me, and I have learned my lesson. I was like a calf that had never been trained. Take me back so that I may come back. You truly are the Lord my God.
All this happened because you burned incense to other gods. You sinned against the Lord. You did not obey him or follow his teachings or the laws he gave you. You did not keep your part of the agreement with him. So this disaster has happened to you. It is there for you to see.”
I am watching over them, not to take care of them, but to hurt them. The Jews who live in Egypt will die from swords or hunger until they are all destroyed.
Lord, don’t you look for truth in people? You struck the people of Judah, but they didn’t feel any pain. You crushed them, but they refused to learn what is right. They became more stubborn than a rock; they refused to turn back to God.
“ ‘Because you didn’t remember when you were young, but have made me angry in all these ways, I will repay you for what you have done, says the Lord God. Didn’t you add sexual sins to all your other acts which I hate?
All the people of Israel have disobeyed your teachings and have turned away, refusing to obey you. So you brought on us the curses and promises of punishment written in the Teachings of Moses, the servant of God, because we sinned against you.
They do not call to me from their hearts. They just lie on their beds and cry. They come together to ask for grain and new wine, but they really turn away from me.