They burned down the Lord’s temple and tore down the wall of Jerusalem. They burned all its fortified buildings and destroyed all its valuable items.

Now give praise to the Lord God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the local residents and from these foreign wives.”

You lead me in the path of life; I experience absolute joy in your presence; you always give me sheer delight.

He will surely give me shelter in the day of danger; he will hide me in his home; he will place me on an inaccessible rocky summit.

The splendor of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it at the same time. For the Lord has decreed it.”

Consider this: When I spoke to your ancestors after I brought them out of Egypt, I did not merely give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Do not listen to the prophets who are telling you that you do not need to serve the king of Babylon. For they are prophesying lies to you.

“Indeed, a time is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.

“Yet you say, ‘The Lord’s conduct is unjust!’ Hear, O house of Israel: Is my conduct unjust? Is it not your conduct that is unjust?

It also acted arrogantly against the Prince of the army, from whom the daily sacrifice was removed and whose sanctuary was thrown down.

Many of those who sleep in the dusty ground will awake – some to everlasting life, and others to shame and everlasting abhorrence.

O Israel, you have sinned since the time of Gibeah, and there you have remained. Did not war overtake the evildoers in Gibeah?

They lie around on beds decorated with ivory, and sprawl out on their couches. They eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the middle of the pen.

We’re eager to trade silver for the poor, a pair of sandals for the needy! We want to mix in some chaff with the grain!”

“The Lord who rules over all asserts, ‘I am about to save my people from the lands of the east and the west.

“Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.

“Leave us alone, Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!”

to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.

“Ha! Leave us alone, Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God.”

Then they said to him, “John’s disciples frequently fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours continue to eat and drink.”