So the messengers took the king’s letters all through Israel and Judah. This is what those letters said:
Lamentations 3:40 - Easy To Read Version Let us check and see what we have done.\par Then let us turn back to the Lord.\par Tuilleadh leaganachaKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 Let us search and try our ways, And turn again to the LORD. Amplified Bible - Classic Edition Let us test and examine our ways, and let us return to the Lord! American Standard Version (1901) Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to Jehovah. Common English Bible We must search and examine our ways; we must return to the LORD. Catholic Public Domain Version NUN. Let us examine our ways, and seek out, and return to the Lord. Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version Nun. Let us search our ways, and seek and return to the Lord. |
So the messengers took the king’s letters all through Israel and Judah. This is what those letters said:
If you come back and obey the Lord, then your relatives and your children will find mercy from the people that captured them. And your relatives and your children will come back to this land. The Lord your God is kind and merciful. He will not turn away from you if you come back to him.
I thought very carefully about my life.\par And I came back to your Agreement. {\cf2\super [593]} \par
\{If something is bothering you,\}\par you can be angry, {\cf2\super [16]} \par but don’t sin.\par Think about those things\par when you go to bed,\par and then relax. {\cf2\super [17]} \par \i (SELAH {\cf2\super [18]})\i0 \par
Evil people should stop living evil lives.\par They should stop thinking bad thoughts.\par They should come to the Lord again.\par Then the Lord will comfort them.\par Those people should come to the Lord\par because our God forgives.\par
That person saw how bad he was and came back to me. He stopped doing the bad things he did in the past. So he will live! He won’t die!”
So come back to your God. Be loyal to him. Do the right thing! Always trust your God!
I will go back to my place,\par until the people admit they are guilty,\par until they come looking for me.\par Yes, in their trouble they will try hard\par to find me.”\par
“Come, let’s go back to the Lord.\par He hurt us, but he will heal us.\par He wounded us,\par but he will put bandages on us.\par
I began telling people that they should change their hearts and lives and turn back to God. I told the people to do things that show that they really changed their hearts. I told these things first to people in Damascus. Then I went to Jerusalem and to every part of Judea and told these things to the people there. I also went to the non-Jewish people.
Every person should look into his own heart before he eats the bread and drinks the cup.
So if you eat or if you drink or if you do anything, do it for the glory of God.
Look closely at yourselves. Test yourselves to see if you are \{living\} in the faith. You know that Christ Jesus is in you. But if you fail the test (are not living in the faith), then Christ is not living in you.
When you are in trouble—when all those things happen to you—then you will come back to the Lord your God and obey him.