<p class="poetry">If grape pickers came to pick your grapes,p> <p class="poetry">would they not leave a few grapes behind?<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">If robbers came at night,p> <p class="poetry">would they not pillage only what they needed?<n id="2" />p>

You must change<n id="1" /> the way you have been living and do what is right. You must treat one another fairly.<n id="2" />

<p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> said,p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Jerusalem,<n id="1" /> I will surely send you away for your own good.p> <p class="poetry">I will surely<n id="2" /> bring the enemy upon you in a time of trouble and distress.p>

<t /><p class="poetry">&#8220;Israel is not a slave, is he?p> <p class="poetry">He was not born into slavery, was he?<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">If not, why then is he being carried off?p>

<p class="poetry">You will not always be angry with me, will you?p> <p class="poetry">You will not be mad at me forever, will you?&#8217;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">That is what you say,p> <p class="poetry">but you continually do all the evil that you can.&#8221;<n id="2" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> said to me,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Tell them, &#8216;The <sc>Lordsc> says,p> <p class="poetry">Do people not get back up when they fall down?p> <p class="poetry">Do they not turn around when they go the wrong way?<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">Does the snow ever completely vanish from the rocky slopes of Lebanon?p> <p class="poetry">Do the cool waters from those distant mountains ever cease to flow?<n id="1" />p>

Rather, each person will die for his own sins. The teeth of the person who eats the sour grapes will themselves grow numb.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">The <sc>Lordsc> who rules over all<n id="1" /> has solemnly sworn,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8216;I will fill your land with enemy soldiers.p> <p class="poetry">They will swarm over it like locusts.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">They will raise up shouts of victory over it.&#8217;p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">The <sc>Lordsc> said,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Go up and down<n id="2" /> through the streets of Jerusalem.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">Look around and see for yourselves.p> <p class="poetry">Search through its public squares.p> <p class="poetry">See if any of you can find a single personp> <p class="poetry">who deals honestly and tries to be truthful.<n id="4" />p> <p class="poetry">If you can,<n id="5" /> then I will not punish this city.<n id="6" />p>

<p class="poetry">So listen to what I, the <sc>Lordsc>, have planned against Edom,p> <p class="poetry">what I intend to do to<n id="1" /> the people who live in Teman.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Their little ones will be dragged off.p> <p class="poetry">I will completely destroy their land because of what they have done.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">So listen to what I, the <sc>Lordsc>, have planned against Babylon,p> <p class="poetry">what I intend to do to the people who inhabit the land of Babylonia.<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">Their little ones will be dragged off.p> <p class="poetry">I will completely destroy their land because of what they have done.p>

<p class="poetry">You can try to wash away your guilt with a strong detergent.p> <p class="poetry">You can use as much soap as you want.p> <p class="poetry">But the stain of your guilt is still there for me to see,&#8221;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">says the Lord <sc>Godsc>.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">But where are the gods you made for yourselves?p> <p class="poetry">Let them save you when you are in trouble.p> <p class="poetry">The sad fact is that<n id="1" /> you have as many godsp> <p class="poetry">as you have towns, Judah.p>

In spite of all this,<n id="1" /> Israel&#8217;s sister, unfaithful Judah, has not turned back to me with any sincerity; she has only pretended to do so,&#8221;<n id="2" /> says the <sc>Lordsc>.

<p class="poetry">&#8220;If you, Israel, want to come back,&#8221; says the <sc>Lord,sc>p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;if you want to come back to me<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">you must get those disgusting idols<n id="2" /> out of my sightp> <p class="poetry">and must no longer go astray.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">I will certainly punish them for doing such things!&#8221; says the <sc>Lordsc>.p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;I will certainly bring retribution on such a nation as this!<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">There is still medicinal ointment<n id="1" /> available in Gilead!p> <p class="poetry">There is still a physician there!<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Why then have my dear people<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">not been restored to health?<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">I will certainly punish them for doing such things!&#8221; says the <sc>Lordsc>.p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;I will certainly bring retribution on such a nation as this!&#8221;<n id="1" />p>

<p class="bodytext">Then I said,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;O <sc>Lordsc>, intervene for the honor of your name<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">even though our sins speak out against us.<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">Indeed,<n id="4" /> we have turned away from you many times.p> <p class="poetry">We have sinned against you.p>