But even if they did bring up children, I would take them away and not leave one alive. When I abandon these people, terrible things will happen to them."

Those who go to Egypt for help are doomed! They are relying on Egypt's vast military strength---horses, chariots, and soldiers. But they do not rely on the LORD, the holy God of Israel, or ask him for help.

Nothing is left of all we were proud of. We sinned, and now we are doomed.

The Sovereign LORD said, "You are doomed! Doomed! You did all that evil, and then

"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You lock the door to the Kingdom of heaven in people's faces, but you yourselves don't go in, nor do you allow in those who are trying to enter!

"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You sail the seas and cross whole countries to win one convert; and when you succeed, you make him twice as deserving of going to hell as you yourselves are!

Blind fools! Which is more important, the gold or the Temple which makes the gold holy?

How blind you are! Which is the more important, the gift or the altar which makes the gift holy?

and when he swears by the Temple, he is swearing by it and by God, who lives there;

"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give to God one tenth even of the seasoning herbs, such as mint, dill, and cumin, but you neglect to obey the really important teachings of the Law, such as justice and mercy and honesty. These you should practice, without neglecting the others.

"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You clean the outside of your cup and plate, while the inside is full of what you have gotten by violence and selfishness.

"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look fine on the outside but are full of bones and decaying corpses on the inside.

"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You make fine tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of those who lived good lives;

Then I looked, and I heard an eagle that was flying high in the air say in a loud voice, "O horror! horror! How horrible it will be for all who live on earth when the sound comes from the trumpets that the other three angels must blow!"

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

The wicked tell God to leave them alone; they don't want to know his will for their lives.

They think there is no need to serve God nor any advantage in praying to him.

These are the ones who rejected God and believed that he could do nothing to them.

Where could I go to escape from you? Where could I get away from your presence?

If I flew away beyond the east or lived in the farthest place in the west,

Jonah, however, set out in the opposite direction in order to get away from the LORD. He went to Joppa, where he found a ship about to go to Spain. He paid his fare and went aboard with the crew to sail to Spain, where he would be away from the LORD.

Jonah went on to tell them that he was running away from the LORD. The sailors were terrified, and said to him, "That was an awful thing to do!"

Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God set you free; that is why I am now giving you this command.

"Lord, these are your servants, your own people. You rescued them by your great power and strength.

He saved them from those who hated them; he rescued them from their enemies.

Repeat these words in praise to the LORD, all you whom he has saved. He has rescued you from your enemies

and has brought you back from foreign countries, from east and west, from north and south.

The LORD says, "Small and weak as you are, Israel, don't be afraid; I will help you. I, the holy God of Israel, am the one who saves you.

Israel, the LORD who created you says, "Do not be afraid---I will save you. I have called you by name---you are mine.

The LORD said, "They are my people; they will not deceive me." And so he saved them

I brought you out of Egypt; I rescued you from slavery; I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you.

For you know what was paid to set you free from the worthless manner of life handed down by your ancestors. It was not something that can be destroyed, such as silver or gold;

it was the costly sacrifice of Christ, who was like a lamb without defect or flaw.

The LORD says, "People deceive the king and his officers by their evil plots.

The LORD says, "The people of Israel have surrounded me with lies and deceit, and the people of Judah are still rebelling against me, the faithful and holy God.

We have rebelled against you, rejected you, and refused to follow you. We have oppressed others and turned away from you. Our thoughts are false; our words are lies.

Now then, tell the people of Judah and of Jerusalem that I am making plans against them and getting ready to punish them. Tell them to stop living sinful lives---to change their ways and the things they are doing.

They will answer, 'No, why should we? We will all be just as stubborn and evil as we want to be.' "

that you are making a fatal mistake. You asked me to pray to the LORD our God for you, and you promised that you would do everything that he commands.

We will do everything that we said we would. We will offer sacrifices to our goddess, the Queen of Heaven, and we will pour out wine offerings to her, just as we and our ancestors, our king and our leaders, used to do in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. Then we had plenty of food, we were prosperous, and had no troubles.

But ever since we stopped sacrificing to the Queen of Heaven and stopped pouring out wine offerings to her, we have had nothing, and our people have died in war and of starvation."

and said, "What is this proverb people keep repeating in the land of Israel? 'The parents ate the sour grapes, But the children got the sour taste.'

"But you say, 'What the Lord does isn't right.' Listen to me, you Israelites. Do you think my way of doing things isn't right? It is your way that isn't right.

"You have said terrible things about me," says the LORD. "But you ask, 'What have we said about you?'

As we see it, proud people are the ones who are happy. Evil people not only prosper, but they test God's patience with their evil deeds and get away with it.' "

If we say that we have not sinned, we make a liar out of God, and his word is not in us.