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,
23
I will cause to cease out of the cites of Judah, and from without 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 spakest by thy servants the prophets, namely, that the bones of our kings, and the bones of our fathers, should be taken out of their place.
25
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.
26
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 Juda.
27
O Lord our God, thou hast dealt with us after all thy goodness, and according to all that great mercy of thine,
28
As thou spakest by thy servant Moses in the day when thou didst command him to write the law before the children of Israel, saying,
29
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.
30
For I knew that they would not hear me, because it is a stiffnecked people: but in the land of their captivities they shall remember themselves.
31
And shall know that I am the Lord their God: for I will give them an heart, and ears to hear: