16
Do not try to bind the purposes of the Lord our God; for God is not like a human being, to be threatened, or like a mere mortal, to be won over by pleading.
17
Therefore, while we wait for his deliverance, let us call upon him to help us, and he will hear our voice, if it pleases him.
18
"For never in our generation, nor in these present days, has there been any tribe or family or people or town of ours that worships gods made with hands, as was done in days gone by.
19
That was why our ancestors were handed over to the sword and to pillage, and so they suffered a great catastrophe before our enemies.
20
But we know no other god but him, and so we hope that he will not disdain us or any of our nation.
21
For if we are captured, all Judea will be captured and our sanctuary will be plundered; and he will make us pay for its desecration with our blood.
22
The slaughter of our kindred and the captivity of the land and the desolation of our inheritance—all this he will bring on our heads among the Gentiles, wherever we serve as slaves; and we shall be an offense and a disgrace in the eyes of those who acquire us.
23
For our slavery will not bring us into favor, but the Lord our God will turn it to dishonor.
24
"Therefore, my brothers, let us set an example for our kindred, for their lives depend upon us, and the sanctuary—both the temple and the altar—rests upon us.
25
In spite of everything let us give thanks to the Lord our God, who is putting us to the test as he did our ancestors.
26
Remember what he did with Abraham, and how he tested Isaac, and what happened to Jacob in Syrian Mesopotamia, while he was tending the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother.