You will all be disgraced---you that say that a tree is your father and that a rock is your mother. This will happen because you turned away from me instead of turning to me. But when you are in trouble, you ask me to come and save you.

But they did not obey or pay any attention. Instead, they did whatever their stubborn and evil hearts told them to do, and they became worse instead of better.

I will scatter my people before their enemies, like dust blown by the east wind. I will turn my back on them; I will not help them when the disaster comes."

So he took me to the inner courtyard of the Temple. There near the entrance of the sanctuary, between the altar and the porch, were about twenty-five men. They had turned their backs to the sanctuary and were bowing low toward the east, worshiping the rising sun.

But the more I called to him, the more he turned away from me. My people sacrificed to Baal; they burned incense to idols.

"But my people stubbornly refused to listen. They closed their minds

You have committed all these sins, and even though I spoke to you over and over again, you refused to listen. You would not answer when I called you.

"For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah until this very day, the LORD has spoken to me, and I have never failed to tell you what he said. But you have paid no attention.

You would not listen or pay attention, even though the LORD has continued to send you his servants the prophets.

and by paying attention to the words of my servants, the prophets, whom I have kept on sending to you. You have never obeyed what they said.

I have continued to send you all my servants the prophets, and they have told you to give up your evil ways and to do what is right. They warned you not to worship and serve other gods, so that you could go on living in the land that I gave you and your ancestors. But you would not listen to me or pay any attention to me.

I kept sending you my servants the prophets, who told you not to do this terrible thing that I hate.

The LORD, the God of their ancestors, had continued to send prophets to warn his people, because he wanted to spare them and the Temple.

But they made fun of God's messengers, ignoring his words and laughing at his prophets, until at last the LORD's anger against his people was so great that there was no escape.

Early the next morning he went back to the Temple. All the people gathered around him, and he sat down and began to teach them.