Manasseh also killed many innocent people, filling Jerusalem from one end to the other with their blood. This was besides the sin he led Judah to do; he led Judah to do what the Lord said was wrong.
Even though we are slaves, our God has not left us. He caused the kings of Persia to be kind to us and has given us new life. We can rebuild the Temple and repair its ruins. And he has given us a wall to protect us in Judah and Jerusalem.
“People of Jacob, remember these things! People of Israel, remember you are my servants. I made you, and you are my servants. So Israel, I will not forget you.
His people will be called the Holy People, the Saved People of the Lord, and Jerusalem will be called the City God Wants, the City God Has Not Rejected.
Lord, have you completely rejected the nation of Judah? Do you hate Jerusalem? Why have you hurt us so badly that we cannot be made well again? We hoped for peace, but nothing good has come. We looked for a time of healing, but only terror came.
Why are you like someone who has been attacked by surprise, like a warrior who is not able to save anyone? But you are among us, Lord, and we are called by your name so don’t leave us without help!
I will pay back the people of Judah twice for every one of their sins, because they have made my land unclean. They have filled my country with their hateful idols.”
The people of Judah have quit following me. They have made this a place for foreign gods. They have burned sacrifices to other gods that neither they, nor their ancestors, nor the kings of Judah had ever known before. They filled this place with the blood of innocent people.
So this is what the Lord All-Powerful says about the prophets: “I will make those prophets eat bitter food and drink poisoned water, because the prophets of Jerusalem spread wickedness through the whole country.”
This is what the Lord says: “Only if people can measure the sky above and learn the secrets of the earth below, will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of what they have done,” says the Lord.
People of Jacob, my servants, do not be afraid, because I am with you,” says the Lord. “I will completely destroy the many different nations where I scattered you. But I will not completely destroy you. I will punish you fairly, but I will not let you escape your punishment.”
The Lord says, “At that time people will try to find Israel’s guilt, but there will be no guilt. People will try to find Judah’s sins, but no sins will be found, because I will leave a few people alive from Israel and Judah, and I will forgive their sins.
But God, who is Jacob’s Portion, is not like the idols. He made everything, and he chose Israel to be his special people. The Lord All-Powerful is his name.
He said to me, “Do you see, human? Is it unimportant that the people of Judah are doing the hateful things they have done here? They have filled the land with violence and made me continually angry. Look, they are insulting me every way they can.
Then he said to me, “The sin of the people of Israel and Judah is very great. The land is filled with people who murder, and the city is full of people who are not fair. The people say, ‘The Lord has left the land, and the Lord does not see.’
“But the number of the Israelites will become like the grains of sand of the sea, which no one can measure or count. They were called, ‘You are not my people,’ but later they will be called ‘children of the living God.’
If she refuses, I will strip her naked and leave her bare like the day she was born. I will make her dry like a desert, like a land without water, and I will kill her with thirst.
People of Israel, listen to the Lord’s message. The Lord has this against you who live in the land: “The people are not true, not loyal to God, nor do those who live in the land even know him.
There is no God like you. You forgive those who are guilty of sin; you don’t look at the sins of your people who are left alive. You will not stay angry forever, because you enjoy being kind.
“At that time I will make the leaders of Judah like a fire burning a stack of wood or like a fire burning straw. They will destroy all the people around them left and right. But the people of Jerusalem will remain safe.
At that time the Lord will protect the people in Jerusalem. Then even the weakest of them will be strong like David. And the family of David will be like God, like an angel of the Lord in front of them.