20
For Thou hast sent out Thy wrath and indignation upon us, as Thou hast spoken by Thy servants the prophets, saying,
21
"Thus saith the Lord: Bow down your shoulders to serve the king of Babylon; so shall ye remain in the land that I gave unto your fathers.
22
But if ye will not hear the voice of the Lord to serve the king of Babylon,
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I will cause to cease in the cites of Judah and from outside Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; and the whole land shall be desolate of inhabitants."
24
"`But we would not hearken unto Thy voice to serve the king of Babylon. Therefore hast Thou made good the words that Thou spoke by Thy servants the prophets, namely, that the bones of our kings and the bones of our fathers would be taken out of their place.
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And lo, they are cast out to the heat of the day and to the frost of the night; and they died in great miseries by famine, by sword, and by pestilence.
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And the house which is called by Thy name hast Thou laid waste, as it is to be seen this day, for the wickedness of the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
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"`O Lord our God, Thou hast dealt with us in all Thy goodness, and according to all that great mercy of Thine,
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as Thou spoke by Thy servant Moses in the day when Thou didst command him to write the law before the children of Israel, saying,
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"If ye will not hear My voice, surely this very great multitude shall be turned into a small number among the nations where I will scatter them.
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For I knew that they would not hear Me, because they are a stiff-necked people; but in the land of their captivities they shall come to themselves,