27
It is not me that you have betrayed; you have betrayed yourselves.
28
"The Lord Almighty says: I have pleaded with you as a father pleads with his sons, as a mother pleads with her daughters, or as a nursemaid pleads with her small children.
29
I begged you to be my people so that I could be your God, to be my children so that I could be your father.
30
I gathered you together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But now what can I do with you? I will banish you from my sight;
1
31
and even when you offer sacrifices to me, I will turn away from you. Your religious festivals, your New Moon celebrations, or your circumcision ceremonies mean nothing to me.
32
I sent to you my servants, the prophets, but you killed them and mutilated their corpses. I will make you pay for murdering them.
33
"The Lord Almighty says: Your Temple is abandoned. I will scatter you like straw blown away by the wind.
34
Your children will have no descendants because they rejected my commandments and did what I hated, just as you did.
35
I will give your home to a people that is about to appear. They will believe me, even though they have not yet heard of me. They will do what I command, even though I never performed any miracles for them.
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36
They have not seen the prophets, but they will live by their ancient teachings.
37
I give my solemn promise that I will bless those people, and their little children will laugh and shout for joy. Those people have never seen me, but deep within them they will believe my words.