Surely the LORD looks for faithfulness. He struck you, but you paid no attention; he crushed you, but you refused to learn. You were stubborn and would not turn from your sins.

So Moses and Aaron went to the king and said to him, "The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says, 'How much longer will you refuse to submit to me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me.

If you keep on refusing, then I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow.

Then the LORD said to Moses, "How much longer will you people refuse to obey my commands?

Since you object to what God does, can you expect him to do what you want? The decision is yours, not mine; tell us now what you think.

I have been calling you, inviting you to come, but you would not listen. You paid no attention to me.

So when you get into trouble, I will laugh at you. I will make fun of you when terror strikes---

Then you will call for wisdom, but I will not answer. You may look for me everywhere, but you will not find me.

You have never wanted my advice or paid any attention when I corrected you.

If you will only obey me, you will eat the good things the land produces.

But if you defy me, you are doomed to die. I, the LORD, have spoken."

Be careful, then, and do not refuse to hear him who speaks. Those who refused to hear the one who gave the divine message on earth did not escape. How much less shall we escape, then, if we turn away from the one who speaks from heaven!

To this the LORD replied, "If you return, I will take you back, and you will be my servant again. If instead of talking nonsense you proclaim a worthwhile message, you will be my prophet again. The people will come back to you, and you will not need to go to them.

I will rescue you from the power of wicked and violent people. I, the LORD, have spoken."

But be sure of this: if you kill me, you and the people of this city will be guilty of killing an innocent man, because it is the LORD who sent me to give you this warning."

God is not like people, who lie; He is not a human who changes his mind. Whatever he promises, he does; He speaks, and it is done.

I have been instructed to bless, And when God blesses, I cannot call it back.

even if you gave me all the silver and gold in your palace, I could not disobey the command of the LORD by doing anything of myself. I will say only what the LORD tells me to say."

He never changes. No one can oppose him or stop him from doing what he wants to do.

They are stubborn and do not respect me, so I am sending you to tell them what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying to them.

Whether those rebels listen to you or not, they will know that a prophet has been among them.

You will tell them whatever I tell you to say, whether they listen or not. Remember what rebels they are.

"Mortal man," he said, "I am making you a lookout for the nation of Israel. You will pass on to them the warnings I give you.

If you do warn an evil man and he doesn't stop sinning, he will die, still a sinner, but your life will be spared.

When they opposed him and said evil things about him, he protested by shaking the dust from his clothes and saying to them, "If you are lost, you yourselves must take the blame for it! I am not responsible. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."

So I solemnly declare to you this very day: if any of you should be lost, I am not responsible.

For I have not held back from announcing to you the whole purpose of God.