23
I will bring to an end every sound of joy and celebration in the towns of Judah and in Jerusalem. Even the happy sounds of wedding feasts will no longer be heard. The whole land will be desolate and uninhabited.'
24
"But we did not obey your command to serve the king of Babylonia, so you carried out the threat that you had made when you spoke through your servants the prophets, when you said that the bones of our kings and of our ancestors would be taken from their tombs and scattered.
1
25
And now here they lie exposed to the heat of the day and to the frost of the night. They died in torment from famine, war, and disease.
26
And because of the sin of the people of Israel and Judah, you have reduced your own Temple to ruins, even as it is today.
27
"But, Lord, you have been patient with us and have shown us great mercy,
28
as you promised through your servant Moses on the day you commanded him to write your Law in the presence of the Israelites.
2
29
"If you do not obey me,' you said, "you will be reduced to a handful among the nations where I will scatter you.
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I know that you will not obey me, because you are a stubborn people. But when you are taken into exile in another land, you will come to your senses.
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Then you will realize that I am the Lord your God, and I will give you a desire to know and a mind with which to understand.
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There in the land of your exile you will praise me and remember me.
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You will stop being so stubborn and wicked, for you will remember what happened to your ancestors when they sinned against the Lord.