First, however, the land must be rid of its people, so that it can enjoy its complete rest, and they must pay the full penalty for having rejected my laws and my commands.

because they have rejected what the LORD said and have deliberately broken one of his commands. They are responsible for their own death.

Why, then, have you disobeyed my commands? Why did you do this evil thing? You had Uriah killed in battle; you let the Ammonites kill him, and then you took his wife!

Now, in every generation some of your descendants will die a violent death because you have disobeyed me and have taken Uriah's wife.

They refused to obey his instructions, they did not keep the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they disregarded his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves, and they followed the customs of the surrounding nations, disobeying the LORD's command not to imitate them.

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.

To have knowledge, you must first have reverence for the LORD. Stupid people have no respect for wisdom and refuse to learn.

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

Listen, earth! As punishment for all their schemes I am bringing ruin on these people, because they have rejected my teaching and have not obeyed my words.

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

Because they did not listen when I spoke, I did not answer when they prayed.

'Look, you scoffers! Be astonished and die! For what I am doing today is something that you will not believe, even when someone explains it to you!' "

So then, whoever rejects this teaching is not rejecting a human being, but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

You refuse to let me correct you; you reject my commands.

and you will say, "Why would I never learn? Why would I never let anyone correct me?

And so people become enemies of God when they are controlled by their human nature; for they do not obey God's law, and in fact they cannot obey it.

Any male who has not been circumcised will no longer be considered one of my people, because he has not kept the covenant with me."

Now, if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own people. The whole earth is mine, but you will be my chosen people,

Then he took the book of the covenant, in which the LORD's commands were written, and read it aloud to the people. They said, "We will obey the LORD and do everything that he has commanded."

The LORD said to Moses, "You will soon die, and after your death the people will become unfaithful to me and break the covenant that I made with them. They will abandon me and worship the pagan gods of the land they are about to enter.

The people have defiled the earth by breaking God's laws and by violating the covenant he made to last forever.

They have gone back to the sins of their ancestors, who refused to do what I said; they have worshiped other gods. Both Israel and Judah have broken the covenant that I made with their ancestors.

It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. Although I was like a husband to them, they did not keep that covenant.

The Sovereign LORD says, "I will treat you the way you deserve, because you ignored your promises and broke the covenant.

It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. They were not faithful to the covenant I made with them, and so I paid no attention to them.